The dollar has cranked higher in the opening months of the year, a poke in the eye for the bulk of Wall Street analysts who had predicted a decline.
The dollar index, which tracks its value against six other major currencies, jumped 3.6 per cent in the first quarter, its best run since 2018 and a sharp turnround from the 6.8 per cent slide last year. It has since pulled back around 1 per cent.
The still robust year-to-date gains have confounded analysts, whose expectation for a strong global recovery to pull the world’s reserve currency 3 per cent lower this year was one of the strongest consensus calls for 2021. Instead, signs that the US will outperform other major economies have pushed it up.