Yellen's speech shores up US dollar

London

THE dollar held firm against most of its major rivals on Thursday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen promised a "few" rises in US interest rates this year, halting its worst run in five months.

The greenback gained as much as one per cent on Wednesday after Ms Yellen's speech, which turned investors back to the narrative of strong growth and rising inflation that drove the currency higher after Donald Trump's presidential election victory in November.