The U.S. dollar hovered close to its weakest level since December 2014 against its major peers on early Friday. This came in after concerns that the government in the United States might shut down, which will be an addition to its underlying woes.
On the previous day, the U.S. House of Representatives signed a reform that will avoid further shutdowns this coming weekend when money expires and give fund to government operations through February 16. If ever the bill faces uncertain future, it must be first approved by the U.S. Senate.
The index which measures the value of the greenback versus its major opposing currencies, the U.S. dollar index was last seen at 90.518. On its last settlement, the index hovered near to an almost three-year low and has been 1.8 percent down so far this year.
Looking at its performance against its Japanese counterpart, the greenback trade at 111.02 yen after its rebound from a four-month low of 110.19 touched last Wednesday.
Barclays’ senior FX strategist Shinichiro Kodata said the policymakers had to pass tax reduction bills in December just so the process will look smooth and though it is not considered as the main event, this moment the risk of the U.S. government shut down looks higher.
In other currency news, the euro was last seen close to its best level in three years at $1.2234. Over the course of the week, the common currency was 0.28 percent higher and there are possibilities that it might post five consecutive weeks of gains.