The dollar was set to end 2014 with a gain of more than 12 percent against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday, its strongest year in almost a decade and, according to most major banks, just a prelude to a further rise next year, Reuters reported. This year's gain will be the greenback's largest since 2005, when it climbed nearly 13 percent, and only the third year in 30 in which it has gained more than 10 percent. The contrast between the U.S. Federal Reserve's path toward rises in interest rates next year and stimulative monetary policies in the euro zone and Japan drove the dollar index to a more than 8-1/2-year high on Tuesday. "Recent solid data has reinforced the view that the U.S. economy is improving enough for the Federal Reserve to consider raising interest rates in mid-2015," said Kit Juckes, a strategist with French bank Societe Generale in London. "If the Fed hikes rates (even once), 2-year yields will be a lot higher than this in a year's time and the dollar will be stronger." The dollar index, which measures its value against a basket of six major currencies, last stood flat at 89.979 .
