Early trade in New York: Dollar treads water after fresh virus vaccine news

NEW YORK: The dollar treaded water early Monday after Moderna Inc became the second US company in a week to report positive results from its Covid-19 vaccine trial. Optimism about the vaccine lifted stocks but mostly bypassed the forex markets, where currency trading held the index of the US dollar against a basket of currencies at 92.66, just below its late Friday level at 92.74.

Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing Covid-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial. That followed a similar vaccine-related update from Pfizer Inc a week earlier.

The euro was steady as investors began the week in a relatively upbeat mood after strong economic data from Asia. The euro hit a one-week high of $1.1869 and was last up 0.03% at $1.1836. Commerzbank analysts said investor confidence that the euro region was better prepared to launch more fiscal stimulus than a divided US Congress was helping.

The dollar against the Chinese yuan was last off 0.2% in offshore markets at 6.5780, after the Chinese currency hit a one-week high of 6.5661 yuan per dollar. Sterling rallied to as high as $1.3242 before settling at $1.3186, down slightly.