Investing.com - The dollar held against other currencies in a two-week high on Tuesday amid speculation of the next Federal Reserve Chair could be.
United States President Donald Trump Trump said on Monday he was “very, very close” to making his decision. Fed Governor Jerome Powell and Stanford University economist John Taylor are the leading candidates for the next Fed chair. The greenback was bolstered as both candidates are thought to be more hawkish than current Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who is also being considered for a second term.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.10% to 93.81 by 11:21 AM ET (4:21 PM GMT).
The dollar rose against the yen, with USD/JPY increasing 0.43% to 113.92.
The Euro was slightly higher after data on Tuesday showed that euro zone private sector activity slowed slightly in October, but continued to expand at a steady pace.
EUR/USD inched forward 0.12% to 1.1763.
Sterling continued to fall amid concern that the UK was growing slowly. GBP/USD was down 0.56% to 1.3122.
Both the New Zealand and Australian dollars were down against the dollar, as worry about the incoming government hit the kiwi. NZD/USD slumped 0.99% to 0.6897 while AUD/USD slipped 0.40% to 0.7777.