Doha: The US dollar climbed to a two-month high in early Asian trading on Wednesday, as mounting risks surrounding the US government shutdown stoked investor anxiety and lifted demand for safe-haven assets. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.3% to 98.91, its strongest level since August 5.
According to Qatar News Agency, the New Zealand dollar weakened as much as 1% to $0.5739 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly cut interest rates by 50 basis points, signaling the possibility of further monetary easing amid worsening economic indicators. The Australian dollar slipped 0.4% to $0.6559, while the dollar strengthened 0.4% against the yen to 152.54, hovering near its highest level since February.
Meanwhile, the euro declined 0.3% to $1.1618 and the British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3395. The offshore Chinese yuan eased 0.1% from the previous session to 7.1506 per dollar.