The U.S. Dollar Returns To Strength This Weekend

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JAKARTA - The U.S. dollar exchange rate rose again and showed a significant strengthening at the end of trading Friday or Early Saturday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other major currencies, was up 0.23 percent at 90.0185.

According to Reuters on Saturday, May 22, at the end of New York trading, the Euro fell to 1.2180 US dollars. Meanwhile, the British pound fell to 1.4154, followed by the Australian dollar down by 0.7732.

The U.S. dollar has restored most of its strength after the Fed's new monetary policy last April. That includes reducing stimulus to boost expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike.

"Tapering concerns have faded rather quickly, it seems", Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank, said in a note.

The U.S. currency found some support after data showed U.S. factory activity grew faster in early May amid strong domestic demand.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.222 percent at 89.993. The index, which hit a four-month low early in the session, was at a 0.4 percent drop for the week.

Some strategists remain skeptical the Fed will soon withdraw from its accommodative stance. "We continue to expect the US dollar to remain weak while US (bond) yields remain under control", Osborne said.

On the other hand, the exchange rate of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin slumped quite sharply. Especially after China redoubled its efforts to prevent speculative and financial risks by cracking down on massive cryptocurrency mining and trading.

Bitcoin traded down 11.5 percent to USD 35.952.05 and Ether fell 14.3 percent.