On the currency markets, the value of the dollar against other currencies increased last week as well, for the third time in a row, as speculations that the US central bank will start reducing interest rates as early as March subsided.
The dollar index, which tracks the value of the US against the six most important world currencies, rose 0.2 percent last week to 103.47 points.
At the same time, the dollar strengthened by 0.4 percent against the European currency, so the price of the euro slipped to $1.0855.
But the exchange rate of the dollar against the Japanese currency remained almost unchanged on a weekly basis, at 148.15 yen.
