LONDON—The safe haven dollar gained towards fresh two-decade highs versus major rival currencies on Monday, supported by fears over a global economic slowdown and bets on steep interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The yen was among a host of currencies swept lower on the day, to its lowest level versus the dollar since 1998, as the gap between Japanese and U.S. benchmark yields widened after red hot U.S. inflation data on Friday.
A sell-off across markets saw European stocks fall for a fifth straight session, while Bitcoin tumbled 9 percent to 18-month lows around $24,000.
The dollar index—which tracks the greenback against six major peers—gained as much as 0.5 percent on the day to 104.75, close to the two-decade peak of 105.01 hit in May. It was last up 0.2 percent at 104.63….