The Lombard Review

New Year's Eve: The dollar's big year

A money counting machine in use at an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area, Jan. 12, 2024.
A money counting machine in use at an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command area, Jan. 12, 2024. Photo: U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Stassney Davis/Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
By The Lombard Review
1 min read

As the final trading session of 2024 concludes, foreign exchange markets can look back on an exceptional year of dollar supremacy. The US Dollar Index (DXY) registered an impressive annual gain exceeding seven per cent, routing major developed and emerging market currencies alike.

The Deutsche Bank high-rise, seen from Opernplatz.
The Deutsche Bank high-rise, seen from Opernplatz. Photo: Leonhard Lenz/Wikimedia Commons · CC0

The Unrivalled Dollar Hegemony

The dollar’s extraordinary performance was powered by an unbeatable macroeconomic combination: superior American economic growth, resilient corporate earnings, and interest rate differentials that widened as the Fed curtailed its easing cycle while Europe and China struggled. With the incoming administration promising tariffs and fiscal stimulus, the greenback enters 2025 firmly cemented as the world’s pre-eminent currency fortress.

The European Parliament in Brussels.
The European Parliament in Brussels. Photo: Guilhem Vellut/Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

The US dollar’s dominant performance in 2024 was an unequivocal triumph of American economic exceptionalism, proving that wide growth and rate differentials continue to crown the greenback king.

Write to The Lombard Review at contact@thelombardreview.com

More From The Lombard Review