The US dollar strengthened along with other safe-haven assets on Friday
(11/2), after the United States said Russia had amassed enough troops near
Ukraine to launch a full-scale invasion.
"A Russian attack could start at any time and will likely start with an air
strike," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told a news
briefing.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major
currencies, was up 0.258%.
US crude futures also jumped more than 5% to $94.66 per barrel, their
highest since 2014. Gold prices rose more than 2% to a nearly two-month
high.
"The dollar's gains were due to Sullivan's comments, as well as reports that
Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to attack Ukraine, which the
White House later denied," said Bipan Rai, head of FX strategy at CIBC
Capital Markets in Toronto.
That move in the US dollar rose, along with moves in other safe-haven assets
such as the US Treasury and the Japanese yen, suggesting the market is
growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of an invasion.
"This is definitely a safe-haven move," he said.
While the Japanese Yen strengthened 0.63% versus the greenback at 115.29 per
dollar. The Canadian dollar weakened on the potential for an imminent
Russian strike triggering a sell-off in risk sensitive assets.
The Russian currency fell further on news of Russia's planned invasion of
Ukraine. The ruble dropped 2.73% versus the greenback at 77.00 per dollar.
Washington urged all US citizens to leave Ukraine within 48 hours.
Other countries - including Britain, Japan, Latvia, Norway and the
Netherlands - have also asked their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately.
Meanwhile, the euro weakened as the market responded to the news about
Russia-Ukraine. In addition, European Central Bank President Christine
Lagarde said in an interview that raising rates now would not lower record
eurozone inflation but would only hurt the economy.
