Dollar remains strong amid continuous geopolitical worries

The greenback held eight-month highs against the euro as escalating geopolitical tensions and worries over more sanctions on Russia, an important trading partner with some European countries, weighed on the single currency.

Two Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down Wednesday in rebel- held eastern region, near the crash site of the Malaysian Airlines jet last week. Meanwhile, Israel's large-scale offensive continued to wreak havoc on the Gaza Strip, killing 660 Palestinians and injuring more than 4,300 others, Xinhua reports.

In the previous session, the euro/dollar rate fell below the psychological level of 1.3500. Analysts expect the European Central Bank to take more stimulus measures to boost economic growth. Meanwhile the Federal Reserve is likely to end its bond- purchases in October and raise interest rates next year.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.3548 dollars from 1.3466 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.7030 dollars from 1.7061 dollars. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.9451 dollars from 0.9394 dollars.

The dollar bought 101.54 Japanese yen, higher than 101.45 yen of the previous session. The dollar went up to 0.9026 Swiss francs from 0.9024 Swiss francs, and it moved down to 1.0731 Canadian dollars from 1.0735 Canadian dollars.