Investing.com - The dollar rose to fresh four month highs against a currency basket on Wednesday, boosted by rising Treasury yields after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to take the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.32% to 93.24 by 03:36 AM ET (07:36 AM GMT), the most since December 19.
The dollar was boosted as the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose above the psychologically important 3% level to the highest level in two weeks as a rally in oil prices boosted inflation expectations.
A rise above the high of 3.035% reached on April 25 would take it to its highest since early 2014.
On Tuesday, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the international nuclear deal with Iran, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East and a knock-on effect for global oil supplies and the global economy.
The dollar rose to four day highs against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.56% to 109.73.
The dollar also gained ground against the euro, which was pressured lower by renewed concerns over political turmoil in Italy. EUR/USD was down 0.28% to 1.1831, the lowest level since December 22.
The single currency has come under pressure in recent sessions after a soft patch of economic data fueled speculation that the European Central Bank may not be able to end its asset purchasing stimulus program in September, as some investors had expected.
The pound was also lower, with GBP/USD losing 0.24% to trade at 1.3515 after plumbing a four month low of 1.3483 on Tuesday.
The pound has fallen sharply in recent weeks as investors slashed expectations for a rate hike by the Bank of England this week amid indications that the economy is weakening.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar fell to fresh eleven month lows, with AUD/USD down 0.55% to 0.7412, while the New Zealand dollar was also lower, with NZD/USD sliding 0.2% to 0.6954, a level not seen since mid-December.