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Dollar stabilizes near 18-month peak as geopolitical risks escalate

Dollar stabilizes near 18-month peak as geopolitical risks escalate

The dollar stabilized at the start of Asian trading on Tuesday, following a holiday in some US markets, as geopolitical risks escalated following renewed attacks on energy facilities in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, recorded 102.56 points in quiet Asian trading, after ending Monday's session up by about 0.3%.

The dollar continues to move near its highest levels since April of last year.

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne, said, "Relatively high interest rates, strong US growth, and increased demand for the dollar as a safe haven continue to provide strong support for the US currency."

Rising energy costs and the rise in US Treasury yields have contributed to supporting the dollar against major currencies recently, while turmoil in the French bond market has negatively affected the strength of the euro.

The spread between French and German bond yields widened on Monday.

The euro stabilized at $1.1159 today, Tuesday, and the sterling also maintained its stability at $1.3209. The dollar fell by about 0.1% against the Japanese currency to 158.435 yen.

The Chinese yuan traded near its highest level in four years and stabilized against the dollar at 6.6950 yuan in offshore trading.

As for the Australian dollar, it fell 0.1% to $0.6956, with no significant change following the release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's September meeting, during which members voted unanimously to raise interest rates for the fourth time this year.

The New Zealand dollar fell 0.1% to $0.5582, trading near its lowest level in 18 months.

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