The U.S. dollar strengthened against other currencies on Friday (Feb. 18) as investors continued to keep an eye on tensions in Ukraine and bought the greenback as a safe-haven currency.
- The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other currencies in a basket of currencies, rose 0.26% to 96.0440.
- The US dollar strengthened against the yen at 115.08 yen from 114.90 yen.
- The US dollar strengthened against the Swiss franc at 0.9211 francs from 0.9201 francs.
- The US dollar strengthened against the Canadian dollar at 1.2742 Canadian dollars from 1.2705 Canadian dollars.
- The euro was lower against the dollar at $1.1337 from $1.1368.
- The pound fell to $1.3605 from $1.3624.
- The Australian dollar fell to $0.7187 from $0.7195.
Investors have bought dollars as a safe haven because they fear that Russia will invade Ukraine. This will lead to Western countries, including the US, imposing economic sanctions on Russia.
According to media reports, clashes between separatist groups in the Donbass and Ukrainian forces occurred for the second time on Friday. It is feared that Russia could use the situation as justification for its invasion of Ukraine.