The dollar continued to gain strength in December compared to most key world currencies, and shows no sign of losing ground anytime soon in light of expectations that the Fed will normalize monetary policy in the coming months. The U.S. dollar index closed at 90.28 on Dec. 31, up 2.3% for the month and 12.8% for the year.
The euro fell 2.4% against the U.S. dollar during the month, to $0.82, pushing its year-to-date decline to 13.5%.
The U.K. pound was flat against the dollar in the month, at $0.64, putting it behind by 4.5% on a year-to-date basis.
The Indian rupee dropped by 1.8% compared to the dollar, accelerating its year-to-date slide to just under 2 percent.
The Indonesian rupiah fell by 1.6% in December, resulting in a year-to-date increase of 2.4%.
The Pakistani rupee rose by 1.3% in the month, pushing its year-to-date increase up to 6.3%.
The Chinese yuan edged up by almost one half a percent against the dollar in December, and was virtually flat for the year.
The Bangladeshi taka, which is loosely pegged against the U.S. dollar, dipped by almost 1 percent in the month.
In December, the Vietnamese dong fell in value very slightly against the dollar, and remains behind by 1.3% on a year-to-date basis.
