The US Dollar Managed to Gain but New Strain Threatens

The US Dollar Managed to Gain but New Strain Threatens

After successive setbacks in the prior weeks, the dollar finally managed to record gains after breaching the 90-point threshold in the previous session.

The USD index tracks the performance of the world’s reserve currency against other entities in the basket. It hiked by 0.20% in today’s trading session. 

It steadied at 90.132 points after falling to a two and a half year low last week. 

The movement came despite the positive developments on the stimulus package back in its home country. The Congress finally delivered its nod on the long-standing negotiation.

On the other hand, analysts noted that although the index managed to take home some gains for the day, the bearish momentum remains. 

As if adding insult to the injury, scientists discovered a new strain of the Covid-19 virus in the United Kingdom. It is believed to be more contagious than the predecessor.

Experts are now in the middle of studying the mutated version known as the B.T.1.1.7. 

Some are conducting clinical tests on whether the incumbent vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is effective to combat to take down the new variant.

With the looming uncertainty, the USD is projected to end the week with its third consecutive weekly loss. 

For the record, the greenback fell by 12.5% from the three-year peak breached during the early onset of the pandemic in March.

In the latest foreign exchange charts, the yen managed to clinch a 0.11% increase and settled at 103.41. This came as the majority of Japanese stocks experienced setbacks for the day due to the ignited fear among investors.

Consequently, the risk-sensitive Antipodean currencies Aussie and NZD each slashed 0.28% and 0.56%, respectively.

 

The Pound is Not Performing Any Better but Hope Remains

Elsewhere, in the old continent, the sterling pound is not performing any better. This comes as more countries across the world closed their borders to the United Kingdom.

Despite the recent setback, the currency managed to mitigate today’s losses to a minimum, cushioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to soften his stance on fisheries policy.

In the latest update, the GBP fell by 0.29% against the dollar and settled at $1.3481. 

Nevertheless, such a descent is more conservative than the 2% drop recorded at one point of the trading session. 

Meanwhile, the GBP/EUR exchange rate opened today’s session with a small hike and is currently playing around 1.10 euros.

The UK leader amended his previous proposal of allowing the EU to keep only 40% of its catch on the contested waters to the current figure of 66%.