The dollar climbed to a four-month high on Thursday while Asian share markets dropped after China reported its strong fourth quarter growth. This reinforced speculation that Beijing would take further measures to keep the economy from overheating.
The dollar rose 0.19 percent against a basket of six major currencies to its highest value since September. The euro, which has been weak due to Greece's fiscal woes, plunged then roared back to $1.4070. It last traded at $1.4087, down 0.14 percent on the day.
Concerns that China may be edging towards slower growth weighed heavily on global markets on Wednesday after news that Chinese authorities had forced some major banks to slow lending for the rest of this month after an early boom of credit. Some investors also fear China's moves could hinder a still-weak global economic recovery and slow its insatiable demand for commodities and other imported goods. But most analysts agree that tightening moves by the Chinese central bank would do little to rid the economy of its strong momentum.
