Dollar Maintains Its Gains Amid Divergent Central Banks’ Positions on Interest Rates

The dollar rose Friday to its highest level in eight weeks against the Japanese yen, amid contrasting the cautious approach followed by the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) regarding interest rates and the positions of other banks tending to reduce them. The dollar index rose by about 0.2 percent to 105.82 points during the trading session, while it rose against the Japanese yen by 0.3 percent to 159.37 yen. The euro fell 0.1 percent to USD 1.0694 after a series of preliminary data showed a contraction in service sector activity in France this June and a slowdown in various sectors of the German economy. The dollar remained at its highest level in approximately five weeks against the British pound, which remained at the level of $1.2639, a decrease of 0.14 percent, which is its lowest level since mid-May. Source: Qatar News Agency