Today, March 1, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.4%. That was a fourth straight daily gain and let the dollar close in on its highest level since January 27.
With the dollar climbing, the yen fell 0.8% and the euro dropped 0.3% to $1.055.
Yields on the 10-year Treasury rose (and prices fell) Â seven basis points to 2.46%.
Gold dropped 0.4% as the dollar rose (and as odds for an early Federal Reserve interest rate increase climbed) to $1,249 an ounce. Gold was up 3.1% in February.
West Texas Intermediate crude, which gained 2.3% in February, fell 0.3% on the stronger U.S. dollar.
Odds of a March 15 interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve, according to CME FedWatch calculations, climbed to 66.4% today from 35.4% yesterday. Odds for a May 3 interest rate increase rose to 71.5% today from 54.8% yesterday. And odds for a June 14 increase climbed to 84.6% today from 73.5% yesterday. Looking at the historical record on Fed interest rate moves, odds of 65% or better in the Fed Funds Futures market show a high correlation with actual interest rate moves by the Fed.
