The dollar's continued rise against the euro and other main currencies could take its toll on the earnings of US-based multinationals such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola, in spite of efforts to blunt the effects through hedging.

In its first-quarter earnings statement last month, McDonald's, which earns almost two-thirds of its revenues outside the US, noted that about 70 per cent of its non-US operating income is denominated in currencies that have fallen against the dollar: euros, British pounds, and Australian and Canadian dollars.

“If all four of these currencies moved by 10 per cent in the same direction compared with 2009, the company's annual diluted earnings per share would change by about 17 to 19 cents,” or almost 5 per cent, the company announced.