Dollar gains for 5th straight day

The US dollar headed higher against the euro Friday for the fifth straight day, riding on expectations that the US economy will pick up pace after the winter slowdown.

The dollar pushed barely past the $1.06 threshold to the euro last seen three weeks ago, before US growth worries sent the greenback tumbling on expectations the Federal Reserve would hold off on a rate rise.

The dollar dropped to $1.10 per euro after that, but with the Fed news baked in, buyers returned and pushed it to $1.0599 Friday.

Kathleen Brooks of Forex.com said that as the European Central Bank builds its quantitative easing stimulus program, and the fed heads in the opposite direction, better yields on the west side of the Atlantic are the draw.

"Interestingly, the euro is coming under pressure even though economic data has been surprising on the upside," she said.

"But in this environment, economic data is not determining the direction of the world's major currencies, yields are.

"As the ECB continues to expand its balance sheet, this is likely to boost the amount of euro in circulation, and may continue to weigh on the single currency."

Related

Bank of Uganda explains shilling fall against dollar

Dollar edges higher despite dovish fed talk