The U.S. dollar climbed on Monday after posting a rare weekly loss as investors flocked to the shelter of perceived safe-haven currencies on concerns about a growing standoff between the United States and China over civil liberties in Hong Kong. The greenback, which tends to behave like a safe-haven asset at times of market turmoil and political uncertainty, rose a fifth of a percent to 99.98 against its rivals, a one-week high. The Australian dollar, by dint of its strong trade connections with China and the offshore yuan, led losers ...

The dollar rose on Friday in overnight trading and extended its gains in early London trading, after U.S.-China tensions boosted demand for safe-haven currencies. U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington would react “very strongly” to new Chinese legislation on Hong Kong, which could lead to new pro-democracy protests. Sino-American relations have worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. has ramped up its criticism of China, blaming it for the spread of the virus, which originated in Wuhan. Last week, the U.S. government moved to block global chip supplies to ...

The dollar edged higher on Thursday as Sino-U.S. tensions and weak economic indicators in Europe dented sentiment after hopes of a quick economic recovery and further stimulus fuelled an overnight rally on Wall Street. Against a basket of currencies the greenback rose 0.2% to 99.40 while U.S. stock futures were trading in the red. The euro eased down 0.1% to $1.0972, giving up some gains secured after a Franco-German proposal for a pan-European Union fund propped up hopes the bloc could move closer to a fiscal union. Stock markets across ...

The euro edged higher on Wednesday as a Franco-German proposal for a common fund that could move Europe closer to a fiscal union underpinned demand for the common currency, while some risk aversion in currency markets also boosted the Swiss franc. The euro inched up 0.18% to $1.0945 , near a two-week peak of $1.09755 reached on Tuesday. Breaking that could open the way for a test of its May 1 high of $1.1019. But the moves were tiny and well within recent ranges due to the presence of large ...

The euro rallied on Tuesday, propelled by a Franco-German proposal on Monday for a fund that would offer grants to European Union regions and sectors hit hardest by the coronaries pandemic. The common currency was also buoyed by a weaker dollar, which lost its safe-haven appeal after encouraging results from the trial of a vaccine for COVID-19, boosting riskier assets. Germany and France, whose agreements usually pave the way for broader EU deals, proposed that the European Commission borrow the 500 billion euros ($546.90 billion) on behalf of the whole ...

Investors are gradually returning to the currency markets following a rout in March when the spread of the new coronavirus sent most units tumbling against the dollar, a group of market data providers found. Liquidity in the foreign exchange markets is coming back towards pre-COVID-19 levels for some of the major currencies, with most recording on average about 70% to 80% of their previous daily volumes, Mosaic Smart Data, CLS and MUFG found in a collaborative project. Trading volumes in emerging market currencies “are not faring as well”, however, and ...

The dollar edged down on Monday as optimism about the re-opening of economies hit by the coronavirus pandemic boosted risk appetite, lifting commodity currencies such as the Norwegian krone. The gradual easing of lockdowns has fuelled optimism across global markets despite fresh trade tensions between the United States and China. “Markets are quietly risk-on overnight”, said Adam Cole, chief currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets. The dollar index drifted 0.05% lower at 100.28. The Norwegian krone was lifted by rising oil prices, supported by output cuts and signs of a ...

The U.S. dollar was set for a small weekly gain on Friday and the Australian dollar for a 1% drop this week as the threat of a second wave of coronavirus infections rattled investors. Total cases in Germany increased by 913 to 173,152 on Thursday and the death toll rose by 101 to 7,824 after the country eased the nationwide lockdown imposed to safeguard the economy and protect lives. New infections were recorded as well in other countries which have eased restrictions on public life, denting earlier investor optimism that ...

Sentiment towards most Asian currencies turned less bearish, a Reuters poll showed, as a decline in new coronavirus cases prompted some countries to reopen their economies, but investors doubled down on short bets on the Chinese yuan. Bearish positions on the yuan rose from a fortnight ago, a Reuters poll of 15 respondents showed, after the country’s trade relations with the United States soured even as the export powerhouse tries to regain footing amid a pandemic-fuelled slump in demand for its products. “Recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump have ...

The dollar strengthened towards a three-week high on Thursday as stock markets weakened broadly after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dismissed speculation about negative interest rates. European stock markets were down more than 1% while U.S. stock futures indicated a negative start for Wall Street, pointing to a third consecutive session of losses and sending investors to the relative safety of the greenback. Comments from U.S. President Donald Trump also lifted the dollar. Trump said he supported a strong dollar, a day Jerome Powell rejected the idea of using negative ...

The dollar held below a three-week high on Wednesday ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on growing speculation that the United States could introduce negative interest rates. Though some U.S. policymakers have spoken against negative interest rates recently, two-year U.S. Treasury yields fell to a record low of 0.105% last week and 2021 Fed fund futures contracts are skirting negative territory. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday again pushed the Fed to adopt negative rates as data showed that U.S. consumer prices dropped 0.8% in April, ...

The dollar fell on Tuesday as the mood turned cautious a day ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on economic issues and as investors weighed the chances of negative U.S. interest rates. The dollar was not necessarily being driven by safe-haven factors, analysts said, given that U.S. stocks were down and Treasury prices were higher on the day. “The dollar is still trading within broad ranges and its weakness today could be due to caution ahead of Powell’s speech tomorrow and especially given the current talk about negative ...

The U.S. dollar clung to gains on Tuesday on growing fears about a second wave of coronavirus infections and after the Federal Reserve played down the likelihood of negative interest rates, boosting the currency’s yield attraction. U.S. Fed policymakers say they will do what it takes to cushion an economy crushed by widespread lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus but likely stop short of cutting interest rates to below zero. New coronavirus infections have been found in China, South Korea and Germany, where respective governments have eased ...

The dollar, which typically functions as a safe-haven investment, rose on Monday even as investors added risk to their portfolios, buying U.S. stocks and selling Treasury bonds. Investors had mixed risk expectations, with an eye on warnings of a second wave of COVID-19 infections as more countries eased lockdown restrictions. Germany reported on Monday that new coronavirus infections were accelerating exponentially after early steps to ease its lockdown, news that sounded a global alarm even as businesses ranging from Paris hair salons to Shanghai’s Disneyland re-opened. South Korean infections also ...

Economists expect most central European currencies to rebound or remain stable over the next 12 months as the region’s economies recover more quickly from the coronavirus pandemic than western counterparts, a Reuters poll showed. Along with other emerging market assets, central European currencies took a hammering as the novel coronavirus reached Europe, with investors ditching riskier assets as economies went into lockdown. “We expect that in general the CEE currencies will gain because the rebound of these economies, of the Hungarian economy, the Czech economy and the Polish economy, will ...