The U.S. dollar steadied against a range of major currencies on Wednesday as market sentiment regarding the ongoing banking insecurity gradually improved.
The dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of major currencies, steadied at 102.42 after gaining 0.3% during the European morning. This comes after the index fell for two straight sessions. Despite the rebound, the dollar index is still set for a 2.1% monthly fall.
“We have returned to a sense of calm right now, but I don’t think it’s all over,” Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank commented. “In the way that water will find cracks, the market is testing for weak points, and it’s how and who will cope best in the high rate environment.”
Against the yen, the dollar strengthened by 0.7% to reach a one-week high of 131.85. The Australian dollar fell 0.45% to $0.6677. Bitcoin rose 4% to $28,360, recovering after the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, was sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).