US Dollar Remains Weak Amid 2020’s Curtain Down

Foreign currency charts reached the last trading day of the year, with the US dollar failing to regain a robust position against its counterparts.

The USD index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against other entities in the basket, fell below the psychological support level of 90 points.

It settled at a multi-year low of 89.737 after a 0.3% drop. It fell as much as 89.681 at one point of the trading session.

The weak dollar indicates that risk-on sentiment is yet again making a comeback on the center stage.

With this, among the biggest gainers is the risk-sensitive Aussie, adding 0.8% to 0.7662. 

Consequently, its antipodean counterpart, the New Zealand dollar, hit its two-year high during the session.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen failed to hop on the bandwagon after falling by 0.4% to 103.13 against the USD.

In the old continent, investors are cheering over the United Kingdom’s approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Such a decision puts the concerns on the new strain of the virus at bay, supported by the presence of the post-separation trade deal between the UK and the European Union.

Pound Ends 2020 in a Positive Note

With the recent developments, the pound managed to steady against the greenback.

The GBP USD pair steadied at $1.3607 while it barely moved against the common currency.

Experts in the field note that the sterling has more room to stride during the first quarter of next year, where a price point of $1.42 is likely.

However, the growing number of infection cases and the new strain of the coronavirus continue to undermine further rally.

In the latest update, studies noted that the mutated virus first found in the UK is no more deadly nor increases the risk of hospitalization.

This gives investors much-needed support to flee towards the pound amid the ignited risk-on sentiment.