STORY: The dollar index – which measures the U.S. currency

against six others – has risen about 2% since mid-April

Although it’s still down around 10%

from last September’s 20-year high

Currency strategists say the debate over the

debt-ceiling could be boosting the dollar

When markets are faced with worries like that, they

often buy safe-haven assets like bonds, gold, and dollars

Others say concerns that the Fed has not yet

slain inflation are part of the story

And some see so-called

technical factors at play

Source: Commodity Futures Trading Commission

The net short bets against the dollar

amounted to $14.56 billion last week

Counter-intuitively, that positioning can help drive rallies

if some traders are forced to close out their positions

by buying the dollar, which then boosts its value