Beijing, June 09 (QNA) - The US dollar remained near its highest level in two months, rising against most major currencies amid uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East, which reduced investors’ appetite for risk and increased expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates later this year.

The euro traded at $1.1528, while the British pound stood at $1.3335, both down about 0.05% during Asian trading after reaching two-month lows in the previous session.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar fell 0.1% to US$0.7039, while the New Zealand dollar traded at US$0.5804.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen weakened to 160.295 per dollar, continuing to fluctuate around the 160 level, which is widely viewed as the threshold for possible official intervention by authorities.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar’s performance against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was steady at 100.03, remaining close to the two-month high of 100.21 recorded on Monday.

The offshore Chinese yuan was little changed at 6.7857 per dollar ahead of trade data due later today. The data is expected to show that growth in Chinese exports accelerated during May. (QNA)