Fed rate hike expectations jolting currencies

Susana Gonzalez | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. fifty dollar bills are run through a counting machine inside a currency exchange store in Mexico City, Mexico.

The dollar is flexing its muscles again, now that Fed officials are suggesting a rate hike may come sooner rather than later.
The dollar firmed as commodities sold off, sending the dollar index up 0.5 percent to just above 96. Platinum plunged more than 3.5 percent in its worse sell-off since January, while gold lost about 2 percent to $1,223 per troy ounce.
Both the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar were down more than 1 percent against the greenback. Oil was also weaker. West Texas Intermediate futures lost 4 percent, closing below the key $40 level — at $39.79 per barrel.
The dollar index has been moving higher since March 18, two days after the Fed met and sent a seemingly dovish message to markets. But more recent hawkish comments from Fed officials have helped give the dollar a lift in a fairly dramatic move against a basket of currencies as traders reassess interest rate expectations.