The dollar settled near the highest level in four weeks, Thursday, indifferent to the downgrade of the US credit rating, which cast a shadow over the financial outlook for the United States, and benefited from strong data for jobs in the private sector.

Data showed, on Wednesday, that US private sector jobs increased more than expected in July, which supported the dollar, as the data indicated the continuation of the strength of the labor market, which is expected to keep US interest rates high for a longer period.

This pushed the dollar index to its highest level since the seventh of July in the last session. In the latest transaction, it reached 102.56, not far from the highest level it recorded yesterday at 102.78.

The euro rose 0.06 percent to $1.0944, compensating for some of the losses it suffered from the previous session.

The British pound rose 0.02% to $1.2714 ahead of the Bank of England (central) monetary policy decision later Thursday. The bank is expected to raise interest rates to their highest level in 15 years to 5.25 percent from 5 percent.

And the Japanese yen recorded a slight increase to 143.31 per dollar, but it is still near its lowest level in more than three weeks of 143.545 per dollar recorded earlier this week.

In the latest transaction, the Australian dollar rose 0.14% to $0.65465, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.02% to $0.6079.