The U.S dollar, on Wednesday, January 4, eased against a basket of the other major currencies on as investors took profits following a rally which propelled the greenback to fresh 14-year highs.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slid 0.17% to 103.06.
The index hit highs of 103.81 on Tuesday, the most since December 2002, after the Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity rose to a two-year high in December.
The dollar was little changed against the yen, with USD/JPY at 117.75, off Tuesday’s three-week highs of 118.6.
The euro pushed higher, with EUR/USD climbing 0.22% to 1.0428. The single currency touched lows of 1.0341 on Tuesday, the weakest level since December 2002.
Sterling also moved higher, with GBP/USD rising 0.27% to 1.2273, recovering from a two-month low of 1.2197 struck overnight.
The Australian and New Zealand dollar were also stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.73% at 0.7271 and NZD/USD trading at 0.6944, up 0.39% for the day.
