US dollar rises amid concerns over split Congress after elections

Representational Image. (Photo: Getty Images)


The US dollar rose slightly against other major currencies as investors remained cautious about the upcoming results of the US mid-term elections.

In late New York trading on Tuesday, the euro fell to $1.1412 from $1.1417 in the previous session, and the British pound increased to $1.3093 from $1.3048 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar was down to $0.7215 from $0.7216.

The US dollar bought 113.39 Japanese yen, higher than 113.22 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar decreased to 1.0032 Swiss francs from 1.0039 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.3139 Canadian dollars from 1.3108 Canadian dollars.

Investors kept a close watch on whether Democrats will claw back control of the US House of Representatives and Republicans will hold on to its Senate majority. Analysts believed that a divided US Congress would undermine the dollar’s value for a short term.

The greenback has recently been boosted by Friday’s robust jobs report, which recorded a sharp rise in both employment and average earnings, as well as an unchanged unemployment rate.

Investors remained positive that the upbeat jobs data will encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in December, which in turn adds to the dollar’s value in the global market.