The US dollar is climbing

Markets Insider

The US dollar index is up by 0.5% at 102.52 as of 8:24 a.m. ET.

Recent "political developments have been unable to derail the dollar, which is edging higher against most of the major currencies today," Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy, wrote.

Still, "the focus is on US political and the high degree of uncertainty," he added.

On Wednesday, Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon and nominee for Secretary of State, will sit down for his Senate confirmation hearings and president-elect Donald Trump is due to give his first press conference since July.

Separately, Jeffrey Gundlach, the CEO of DoubleLine Capital Capital, said that he's "not really a big dollar bull" during his discussion of his 2017 outlook on Tuesday evening.

As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 8:35 a.m. ET:

• The British pound is down by 0.4% at 1.2123 against the dollar. Data showed that manufacturing production rose by 1.3% month-over-month in November, above expectations of a 0.5% increase. However, trade data came in weaker than than expected with the overall trade balance rising to £4.2 billion in November - about £600 million more than expected. Imports grew by £3.3 billion year-over-year in November, while exports grew by £700 million year-over-year that month.
• The euro is down by 0.5% at 1.0509 against the dollar. In politics, conservative former prime minister Francois Fillon is ahead in the French polls, while Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement has backtracked on its plans to quit the UKIP grouping in the European Parliament.
• The Russian ruble is down by 0.3% at 60.3217 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is up by 0.8% at $54.08 per barrel.
• The Japanese yen is down by 0.3% at 116.16 per dollar.