Early trade in New York: Euro hits 1-1/2 years high against dollar

NEW YORK: The euro on Tuesday climbed to its highest against the US dollar since January last year, after European Union countries struck an agreement on a massive stimulus plan to revive their coronavirus-battered economies.

An upturn in sentiment following the EU deal lifted commodity currencies, which tend to benefit in times of increased risk appetite. The Australian dollar rose to a 15-month high against the greenback, the New Zealand currency climbed to a six-month peak, and the Canadian dollar advanced to its strongest level in six weeks.

"There was all this anticipation for this rescue package, which was almost guaranteed that it will pass and when it did, it made everybody happy," said Juan Perez, currency trader at Tempus Inc in Washington.

In midday trading, the euro rose 0.6% to $1.1510, after earlier hitting $1.1516, the highest level since Jan. 11, 2019 last year.

Against basket of major currencies, the dollar fell 0.5% was to 95.25, the lowest since early March.

The Australian dollar was last up 1.4% at US$0.7113, also lifted after the central bank offered few surprises in minutes from last month's meeting.

The New Zealand dollar rose 0.8% to US$0.6626.

The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.7% to C$1.3443 per US dollar.

The dollar fell 0.5% versus the yen to 107.77 yen.