The dollar rises to its highest level in five years

The US dollar rose against the major currencies today, to rise against the euro to its highest level in five years, amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its next meeting scheduled for 3 and 4 May.

The single European currency fell against the US dollar to 1.0561 dollars, after recording earlier in the session 1.0515 dollars, the lowest level since March 2017, and in April the euro fell by 4.6% so far. The main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against 6 major currencies, rose to 102.93 after hitting 103.28 earlier in the session, the highest level since January 2017, and the pound sterling fell against the US dollar by 0.24% to $1.2542.