Dollar up for 7th straight month, euro falls hard

New York

THE US dollar pushed its winning streak to seven straight months for the first time in a decade as a wave of easing by the world's major central banks enhanced the appeal of US assets.

The euro posted its biggest monthly decline since September 2011 after the European Central Bank's announcement of sovereign-bond purchases on Jan 22. Russia's rouble plunged after an unexpected interest-rate cut and Canadian dollar fell to an almost six-year low.