HONG KONG, May 16 Reuters The dollar started the week just off a 20year high against its peers on Monday, as investors sought safety due to fears about global growth that were highlighted by Monday39;s poor Chinese economic data, sending the Aussie dollar lower.

The dollar index was at 104.57, having briefly crossed the 105 level on Friday, its highest since December 2002, after six successive weeks of gains.

Persistent geopolitical tensions, ongoing global supply disruptions, a slowing Chinese economy and a hawkish Fed suggest that the USD should be stronger for longer, said HSBC global FX research in a note refreshing their currency forecasts.

They expect the euro to fall to parity against the dollar in the coming year. Much weaker growth and much higher inflation leave the ECB facing one of the toughest policy challenges in G10 central banks, they said.

The single currency was at 1.0395 on Monday morning, slightly lower, and only just above the 1.0354 level it hit on Thursday, its lowest since early 2017.

Moves were sharper in the Australian dollar , which fell 0.68, hurt by weakerthanexpeted Chinese data for April, when COVID19 lockdowns took a heavy toll on consumption, industrial production and employment, adding to fears of a sharp slowdown in the second quarter.

I think people want to see more being done to stabilise the Chinese economy, so that39;s something to keep a lookout for, said Sim Moh Siong currency strategist at Bank of Singapore.

He said…