Early trade in New York: Dollar index falls to one-week low

14 Aug, 2020

NEW YORK: The dollar fell to its lowest in a week against a basket of currencies on Thursday, pressured as a safe haven by overall equity market resilience as well as the impasse over additional stimulus for the US economy to cope with the virus pandemic. After losing 10% of its value from a peak in March, the dollar index has been bouncing around its lowest levels in more than two years since late July.

On Thursday, it traded 0.3% lower at 93.079, led by losses versus the euro. The single European currency was up 0.5% at $1.1838. Investors remained focused on the stimulus package talks, which broke down last week. Analysts also noted recent equity market resilience has worked against the dollar.

"The S&P500 briefly touched record highs yesterday, confirming the ability of equities to quickly shrug off negative drivers to sentiment," said Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING. The dollar though shrugged off better-than-expected US jobless claims data.

The Japanese yen recouped some of its losses from the previous day, against the dollar, which was last down 0.1% at 106.78. The British pound rose 0.7% against the dollar to $1.3101. The onshore yuan briefly rose to a five-month high before steadying at 6.9421 per dollar. US and Chinese officials meet Saturday to review their Phase I trade deal.

Read Comments