Buoyed by the strong US economy, the Federal Reserve’s rate increases and lacklustre growth elsewhere, the dollar has rediscovered its momentum over the past six months. And analysts believe that the rally has further to run for now.
After a weak 2017 and starting the year on the back foot, the dollar has strengthened more than 5 per cent against many of its peers since April. In trade-weighted terms, its gains have been even stronger.
While emerging markets have had some respite in recent weeks, the effect of dollar strength on EM has been ugly. JPMorgan Chase’s EM currency index has tumbled 12 per cent since April, with equity markets, as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, surrendering more than 16 per cent.