After raising US interest rates, the dollar is at its highest level in 20 years, and the euro continues to decline

The US dollar rose to a 20-year high against major currencies on Thursday, boosted by expectations of tightening monetary policy at the US Federal Reserve, and after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's first general mobilization since World War II.

The dollar index - which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of 6 major currencies, including the euro, sterling and the yen - rose to 111.79 points for the first time since mid-2002.

The dollar rose to a 24-year high above 145 yen, after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates ultra-low and issued accommodative monetary policy directives on Thursday.

The dollar also hit new highs against the New Zealand and Australian dollars, and rose against the offshore Chinese yuan and the Korean won.

The US central bank raised the interest rate by 75 basis points on Wednesday, the third time this year, to a range between 3.00% and 3.25%, and hinted at further rate hikes.

The Fed's forecasts show that the interest rate will rise to 4.6% next year, with no interest rate cut until 2024.

The euro's lowest level in two decades

In details, the dollar rose to 145.405 yen, but witnessed sharp fluctuations in the wake of the Bank of Japan announcement, and recorded in the latest trading, a gain of 0.31% at 144.53 yen.

The British pound fell to its lowest level in 37 years to $ 1.1221, and recorded in its latest trading, a decrease of 0.26% to $ 1.1240.

The euro also fell to a 20-year low of $0.9807, before trading 0.18% lower at $0.9820.

The Australian dollar fell 0.6% to $0.6593, after touching $0.6583, its lowest level since 2020.

 Oil is going down

For its part, oil prices fell in early Asian transactions today, Thursday, after the US interest rate was raised significantly to control inflation, while concerns related to the global economy cast a shadow on future fuel demand.

By 00:13 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $89.67 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell to $82.79 a barrel.

Risky assets such as stocks declined after the news, as did oil.

And the US Energy Information Administration said - yesterday, Wednesday - that the demand for gasoline in the United States over the past four weeks fell to 8.5 million barrels per day, the lowest level since February.