The American dollar is the overall winner this 2018, despite being battered in these last days of the year. The DXY recovered from a yearly low of 88.25 achieved early February to a 17-month high of 97.71 in December, now battling in the mid 96s. Much of dollar strength came from the US Federal Reserve and its tightening policy, two steps ahead of any other central bank. But it also benefited from weakness somewhere else, mostly focused in political trouble in the Old Continent. " Valeria Bednarik "