A strong U.S. dollar will maintain the status quo in the near term, as markets brace for a risk the Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut gets delayed to the second half of this year, according to a Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists.

Shrugging off a weakening trend late last year, the dollar has gained against nearly every currency tracked by traders and investors, and is up nearly 2.5% for the year.

Much of the greenback's recent strength is based on stronger-than-expected U.S. economic performance and receding calls for early Fed rate cuts. The timing of the latter is likely to have a bigger say on the currency's moves in the near-term.

The euro, down around 1.5% for the year, was forecast to gain 3.0% to trade around $1.12 in a year. The common currency was last changing hands around $1.09 on Wednesday.

Even the battered Japanese yen, which has lost nearly a third of its value since 2021, was expected to gain over 9.0% in 12 months to trade at 137.00/dollar.

After failing to make any headway against the greenback in 2023, the Aussie and Kiwi dollars were predicted to gain around 7.3% and 5.0% respectively, recouping their 2024 losses and trading higher against the U.S. dollar in coming months.

The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollars - last trading around $0.65 and $0.61, respectively, on Wednesday - were forecast to rise to $0.70 and $0.64 by end-Feb.

Source: Reuters