Dollar strengthens

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WASHINGTON- The dollar rose along with other safe-haven assets on Friday after the United States said Russia has massed enough troops near Ukraine to launch a major invasion.

A Russian attack could begin any day and would likely start with an air assault, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told a media briefing.

The dollar had been trading mostly sideways when the US warning hit markets. The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.258 percent.

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US crude futures jumped more than 5 percent to $94.66 a barrel, the highest since 2014, while gold rose more than 2 percent to a near two-month high at one point.

The dollar’s rise was due to Sullivan’s comments, as well as reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to invade Ukraine, which the White House later disputed, said Bipan Rai, head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

That move up, along with moves in other safe-haven assets such as US Treasuries and the Japanese yen, indicates the market is growing more and more concerned about the prospect of an invasion, said Rai.

“It’s definitely a safe-haven move,” he said.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.63 percent versus the greenback at 115.29 per dollar, while the Canadian dollar weakened as the potential for an imminent Russian attack triggered a sell-off in risk-sensitive assets.

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