The U.S. dollar jumped on Tuesday, sending one widely followed gauge toward its highest closing level in more than four months, as the U.S. Senate’s passage of a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill reinforced investors’ positive outlook for the economy.
The U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
Driving much of the positive sentiment from investors are recent gains in U.S. employment and comments by some Federal Reserve officials and politicians who say the central bank should soon begin to dial back its extraordinary aid for the economy introduced during the pandemic. The Senate’s passage of the infrastructure bill is just an extra consideration, analysts said.
“The prospect of tapering coming in sooner than expected ” is what’s helping fuel much of the momentum, Tom Nakamura, a portfolio manager at AGF Investments Inc., said in phone interview. Meanwhile, final passage of the infrastructure package by Congress would mean “more stimulus keeps the economy going” and the Fed can step back.
Uncertainty about global economic growth as COVID-19’s delta variant spreads is also driving a safe-haven bid for the dollar and is “less favorable for most other currencies,” he said.