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The ICE U.S. Dollar Index hit a fresh 52-month high Thursday, the second time this week. The greenback was spurred higher by dovish comments from the European Central Bank, falling oil prices, and tepid data out of the U.K.
The index DXY, +0.02% , a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, gained 0.7% to 88.0570 Thursday after rising as high as 88.11.
The euro EURUSD, +0.03% fell steadily against the buck during North American trading, settling at $1.2365 Thursday afternoon, a 26-month low, compared to $1.2487 late Wednesday.
the dollar hovered just under a seven-year high reached during the Asia trading day. It USDJPY, +0.10% traded at 115.20 yen, compared to ¥114.62 late Wednesday.
Natural gas for December delivery NGZ14, -0.02% rallied 21 cents, or 5%, to finish at $4.4040 per million British thermal units. That was natural gas’s largest settlement since July.
Prices rose even as the Energy Information Administration reported earlier Thursday an increase in supplies that were above expectations.
The EIA reported natural gas inventories rose 91 billion cubic feet, compared with expectations of an increase between 83 bcf and 87 bcf, according to analysts polled by Platts.
Weather forecasts, however, have pointed to colder-than-normal temperatures for next week in key heating markets, and the cold snap points to more demand for natural gas.
December gasoline RBZ4, -0.27% gained 4.3 cents, or 2.1%, to settle at $2.1301 a gallon on the Nymex. That was gasoline largest one-day gain in two weeks.
December heating oil HOZ4, -0.48% rose 2 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.4587 a gallon on Nymex. That was heating oil’s largest one-day gain in a week.
January platinum PLF5, -0.38% dumped $1.60 to $1,209 an ounce, while December palladium PAZ4, -0.08% shed $1.35 to $756.50 an ounce. High-grade copper for December delivery HGZ4, +0.33% stayed even at $3 a pound.
Gold was heading toward its seventh-straight losing session on Thursday, though declines were held in check relative to the prior session’s sharp drop.
At last check, gold for December delivery GCZ4, -0.89% was down $1.40 to $1,144.30 an ounce. December silver SIZ4, -1.48% dropped another 15 cents, or 1%, to $15.29 an ounce, drifting farther from the February 2010 lows it ran into in the prior session.
