With the flagging US economic indicators and rising number of daily infections worldwide, the US dollar gains.
The anti-risk sentiment is yet again dominant, thereby sending investors to flee in the protection of the safe-havens.
The USD index tracks the performance of the greenback against other entities in the basket of currencies. Today, it hiked by 0.05% to 90.887.
It hovers above a one-month high and steadily trading above the 90-point threshold. This was a rather rare occurrence in the past trading sessions.
It sent the Japanese yen to slash 0.10% for the day to steady at 103.77. The risk-off domination sent the Asian giant to firm against other leading currencies.
Meanwhile, the renminbi managed to hike by 0.09% to 6.4858 after China reported a better than expected gross domestic product growth during the fourth quarter.
For the October through December period, the economy grew by 6.5% year on year. It surpassed analysts’ expectation of a 6.1% hike.
The upbeat data is quick to consolidate positive thrust for the Chinese yuan. Experts in the field however, noted that the report is not enough to ignite a bullish momentum.
Analysts highlighted that the market remains loyal to the dollar at the moment, especially with the change of administration on the line up this week.
In an update on risk-sensitive antipodeans, the Aussie carried through last week’s losing momentum and edged down by 0.12% to 0.7692.
Following the path of its counterpart, the NZD fell by 0.13% to 0.7128 against the greenback. It hit a three-week low at one point of the trading session where it exchanged hands at 0.7117.
In the United Kingdom, the pound lowered by 0.08% and settled at 1.3575.
How is the Euro Currency Faring?
In the old continent, the euro currency remains under the hands of the bears due to the pressure from successive events to happen during the week.
The European Central Bank meeting, the EU summit, and Italy’s on-going political turmoil remain on investors’ top list to watch.
In a statement, a forex expert noted that although the market is aware of the minimal updates from ECB, spectators expect that the central bank monitors the exchange rate carefully.
In the latest charts, the common currency slashed 0.1% and settled at 1.2073 against the world’s reserve currency.
At one point in the trading session in Asia, it dipped as much as 1.2066, which is its lowest settlement in the last six weeks.
