The US dollar looked set on Wednesday to end 2014 with a gain of more than 12 percent against a basket of major currencies, its strongest year in almost a decade and, according to most major banks, just a prelude to a further rise next year. Traders favoured the dollar as this year's winning bet heading into the New Year, pushing the euro to a fresh 29-month low against the greenback of $1.2112 and the dollar to a fresh 29-month high against the Swiss franc of 0.9925 franc in thin trade.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was last up slightly at 90.077. This year, though, the dollar should see its largest gain since it climbed nearly 13 percent in 2005, and only the third year in 30 in which it has gained more than 10 percent. The euro was last down 0.22 percent against the dollar at $1.2129. The dollar was last up 0.25 percent against the franc at 0.9913 franc. The dollar was last up 0.08 percent against the yen at 119.55 yen. Sterling was an exception and was last up 0.21 percent against the dollar at $1.5590.