The US dollar index catapults to a fresh two-year high amid expectations of a slower pace of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2025. The greenback’s latest round of gains came after weekly jobless claims data read stronger than expected, indicating that the labor market remained strong. A strong labor market gives the Fed more headroom in considering future monetary easing. The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 211,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 220,000. With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 209,000 in the week ended April 27, 2024. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the US Dollar’s (USD) performance against six major currencies, climbed to a fresh multi-year high of 109.37 on Thursday before easing slightly to trade around 109.01 at the time of writing. Amid the slight pull back in DXY, EURUSD and GBPUSD recovered some of its lost ground and are quoting at $1.0304 and $1.2389 respectively.