Optimism about US-China trade talks drove the dollar to its strongest level since the stock market began its post-Christmas recovery and put it on track for its biggest daily rise in a fortnight.

Weakness in the euro and British pound have supported the greenback in recent days and Monday’s advance puts it on track for its eighth consecutive daily rise — its longest winning streak in two years — and among its longest on record.

The DXY index, which tracks the buck against a weighted basket of global peers, rose 0.4 per cent to 97.041 around midday in New York on Monday. It is the highest level — as well the first time the index has traded through 97 — since December 26, when Wall Street began its recovery from the bruising fourth-quarter sell-off.