Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – The dollar was at its highest point since early days of pandemic. It is heading for its best monthly performance since 2015. This trend has been supported by U.S. rate increases and safe-haven flows fanned in part by slower growth in China or Europe.

The overnight high of the greenback against six currencies was 102.37 by the. This is the highest it’s been at since March 2020.

In early trade, the euro dropped below $1.0635, its pandemic lows, in early trading. This is a five year low. It was triggered by fears about energy security and Europe’s growth following statements made later that day by Gazprom (MCX) in Russia.

Also, commodities currencies were sold to the greenback. This drove the New Zealand dollars to their lowest level of the year at $0.6562. The Australian dollar fell to $0.7119 after two months.

Early trade was calm ahead of the release of inflation data at 0130 GMT.

Citi analyst said that “the dollar is currently the hedge in markets,” while other commodities such as gold no longer work as efficiently.

They added that the dollar was a ‘quality carrier’. “The dollar is also more reliable than the safe haven FX options.”

Safety flows still support the yen. It rose from its recent lows of 126.96 to an all-time high of 126.96, and enjoyed overnight its strongest day against the British pound for more than two decades.

Markets are at risk of adjustments to forecasts and even changes in policy to stop the recent fall of the yen.

Fumio Kishida the Japanese Prime Minister took a low stance on Tuesday.

At 6.5902 dollars in offshore trade, the, which had fallen more than 3.5% over the past month, was still under severe pressure. After North Korea’s pledge to increase its nuclear arsenal, the South Korean won fell to a 2-year low.

The sterling fell more than 2 percent against the dollar due to soft retail sales data. This has led to a review of Britain’s rate outlook. Sterling hit an all-time low of $1.2560 for the 21st month on Wednesday.

The price of equities, which were sold overnight by investors who had abandoned risky assets in favor of equities, hovered around $38,228, for a minimum six week.