The dollar strengthened for the third week in a row

The dollar rose for the third week and fully recovered after stumbling at the beginning of the year. The US dollar index strengthened this week by 0.3 percent to 103.88 points.

Concerning the European currency, the dollar weakened by 0.2 percent, so the value of the euro reached 1.0695 US dollars, writes Mina referring to Seebiz.

However, the dollar exchange rate against the Japanese currency jumped about two percent to 134.15 yen (JPY).

During the week, the dollar index broke above the 104-point mark and reached its highest value in six weeks.

The US dollar strengthened on a series of data showing that inflationary pressures in the United States of America are not easing as quickly as investors had hoped and that the economy and labor market remain very strong, despite aggressive interest rate hikes by the central bank, the Fed, in the last year. Hence, that’s why Fed leaders will raise interest rates.

Until recently, it was expected that the Fed could end the rate hike cycle with the key interest rate below the five percent level and that at the end of this year, when inflation has eased sufficiently, it could start the rate cut cycle.

World food prices will continue to rise

Food prices will continue to rise and have not reached their peak, although inflation has, according to the world’s leading food producers. While their costs are rising, customers are increasingly turning to cheaper products.

Nestle, the largest group for food production on the planet, believes that the price of basic foodstuffs will increase further this year.

The Swiss company raised prices last year by an average of 8.2 percent.