US Dollar versus other Currencies

The US dollar has picked up against most major currencies to include the euro. However, the UK pound sterling remained formidable.

The dollar scaled upwards since the financial crisis commenced in 2008. Based on trade-weighted index of the ICE exchange, the US note increased 7.7 per cent during the third quarter of 2014. It gained five percent in the last quarter and climbed to an amazing 10.4 percent so far during the first three months of 2015.

In fact, it is well on its way for the strongest performance in a quarter since 1992.

What set off the US dollar's rise was the plunge in crude oil prices last year. Oil deals are denominated in the US currency so drops in oil are linked to increases of the US dollar.

This time, the most recent boom of the dollar all boils down to differences in monetary policies and cash rates. The ECB is all focused on acquisition of QE bonds while other central banks in the up-and-coming world have trimmed down rates. The US Fed appears to be boosting rates in 2015 while the Bank of England may follow its US counterpart after.

For some Asian countries like South Korea, the won dropped 11 percent versus the dollar since last year. However, it gained nine percent over the Japanese Yen during the same duration and 60 percent during the last three years.

Meanwhile, projections in the euro region are filled with excitement as brokers called for 17.2 percent growth in 2015 revenues. Said estimates increased significantly during the last three weeks as common currency floundered which caused an extreme growth in valuations of stocks in Europe.