2019.04.2417:49:00UTC+00Dollar Displays Strength Against Rivals

The U.S. dollar displayed immense strength on Wednesday after most of its peers shed ground amid concerns about growth.

The recent strong new home sales data and reports that showed a bigger than expected jump in retail sales and drop in jobless claims all continued to support the greenback.

The dollar index rose to 22-month a high of 98.19 before easing a bit to 98.10, still up over 0.5% on previous close.

The Aussie shed more than 1.2%, amid speculation the central bank might cut interest rates later this year. The Aussie was trading at $0.7008, after having traded at $0.7101 on Tuesday.

Against the euro, the dollar was up marginally, with weak data out of Germany weighing on the EU currency.

Germany's business confidence unexpectedly weakened in April to its lowest level in three years.

Survey data from the ifo Institute showed the business climate indicator dropped to 99.2 in April from an upwardly revised 99.7 in March. Economists had expected the index to climb to 99.9 from March's original 99.6.

The business situation index fell to 103.3 from an upwardly revised 103.9 in March. Economists had predicted a score of 103.6. The reading was the lowest since March 2017.

The expectations measure of the survey decreased to 95.2 from 95.6, while it was expected to climb to 96.

Against British Pound Sterling, it moved up by about 0.3% before paring some gains.

The Japanese yen fell more than 0.4% with a dollar fetching 112.33 yen.

Canada's loonie dropped to a low of 1.3521 against the dollar after the Bank of Canada held its interest rate unchanged and removed the wording suggesting the hint for rate hikes in future from the statement.

The bank said economic growth during the first half of 2019 is now estimated to be slower than anticipated in January. It forecast inflation to dip in the third quarter due to the dynamics of gasoline prices, before returning to about 2% by year end.

Markets now await data on U.S. durable goods orders for the month of March and weekly jobless claims, due on Thursday, and the crucial fourth quarter GDP data, due on Friday.