Emerging economies hit by strong dollar, Covid-19

Against a basket of other currencies, the dollar hit a 3-year high of 102.99 last week. However, it has dropped about 2% so far this week.

ALREADY struggling with coronavirus-induced slowdowns, emerging market economies are facing further pressure from a rallying dollar, which has inflated borrowing costs for businesses and prompted foreign money to leave their stock markets.

Emerging market countries that depend on their commodity exports have also been hit by a fall in crude oil prices this year.