Investors Avert From Risky Assets, US Dollar Climbs

Investors Avert From Risky Assets, US Dollar Climbs

The US dollar is near to cap its best week so far in the month after recording another gain the early European trade.

Investors are currently going off the railroad tracks, fleeing towards safer assets. The greenback is further supported by the deadlock decision in the fiscal stimulus, which is unlikely until after elections.

Similarly, the new sessions of localized lockdowns in Europe helped the dollar gain grounds against the euro and pound and other entities in the currencies basket.

London follows a more rigid observation of mobility restrictions starting midnight, while Paris’s global center is under a renewed curfew.

The world’s reserve currency currently settled in its two-week high, trading at 93.910 in foreign exchange charts after a 0.504% surge.

After gaining a significant edge on Wednesday following optimistic progress on Brexit, the sterling pound sheds off the advances after the imposition of tighter restrictions.

The GBP edged down by a significant 0.91% today, the last trading at $1.2993. The EUR followed the downward trend after shedding off 0.49%. It settled at $1.1688 against the USD.

The fall of the two European exchange mediums is modest compared to the more volatile Antipodeans of the Pacific.

The AUD trades lower anew after dropping a major 1%, driving it to a two-week low of $0.7057. 

So far in the week, the Australian currency descended by 2%, weighed further by the country’s central bank hinted to resort to monetary easing to nurse its pandemic-damaged economy. 

Its neighboring country, the NZD, also fell by 1% to $0.6577 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, in Asia, the yen also weakened compared to the greenback, but gains are not to be neglected. The USD/JPY is up by 0.2% for the week, heading for a good trading week for the pair.

US Weekly Unemployment Claims on Steady Increase

Even when overseas events appear to offer good news for the USD, conditions back home remain volatile.

In the latest reports, US jobless claims hikes to a two-month high, sending the total of unemployed Americans to 25 million.

For the week ending October 10, initial benefit claimants hit 53,000 from the week’s 898,000 unemployed.

According to analysts, the figures are expected to balloon in the coming weeks as the country continues to battle with steady high coronavirus cases.

The report sent an early cap to the greenback’s gains. Similarly, President Donald Trump asserted that he is willing to compromise with the Democrats by raising his offer to $1.9 trillion, but the idea was quickly dismissed.