Home > XE Currency Blog > XE Currency Blog - Market Analysis & Forex News
Risk-off positioning underpinned the yen while weighing on the dollar bloc and other currencies with a high beta characteristic, with coronavirus anxiety remaining full on. USD-JPY dove more than 0.6% in printing a 24-day low at 108.79. The pair has now declined by just over 3% from the high seen last week. Read more
The Dollar index hit three-week lows in N.Y. on Thursday, printing 98.36 from opening levels near 98.70, before heading back over 98.60. Uncertainty over the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. drove the Dollar lower, and prompted another opening rout on Wall Street, which took the NASDAQ and DJIA into correction territory. Read more
Dollar weakness has been a feature, concurrent with the U.S. 10-year T-note yield hitting a fresh record low, while sterling and the Canadian dollar have also underperformed. The Australian dollar, meanwhile, managed a bounce from 11-year lows, and the yen and Swiss franc traded mixed, losing ground to an outperforming euro while gaining versus other currencies. Read more
The dollar has been trading mostly softer, concomitantly with the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield posting a fresh record low in Asian trading, though the greenback still managed modest gains versus the Canadian dollar, which has underperformed as oil prices hit 14-month lows. Read more
The Dollar index was steady in N.Y. trade on Wednesday, though ranges were relatively narrow. Market concern over the caronavirus ramped up after reports there were more new cases of the disease outside of China than inside China. German Health Minister Spahn said Germany is at the beginning of a coronavirus epidemic, adding that "The infection chains are partially no longer trackable, and that is a new thing." These new details saw Wall Street's sharp opening gains vaporize later in the session, an Treasury yields pull back to record lows EUR-USD traded between 1.0855 and 1.0894, as USD-JPY pulled back from 110.70 highs, dipping later to 110.20. Read more
The dollar bloc and most developing world currencies remained under pressure amid an ongoing fragile sentiment in global markets. The Australian dollar tumbled to fresh major-trend lows versus the U.S. dollar following a big miss in Q4 construction data out of Australia, which contracted 3.0% q/q versus the median forecast for -1.0%. Read more
The Australian dollar tumbled to fresh major-trend lows versus the U.S. dollar following a big miss in Q4 construction data out of Australia, which contracted 3.0% q/q versus the median forecast for -1.0%. The data suggests Q4 GDP may be weaker than expected, and that's before the Q1 impact of the worst-in-decades wildfires, the sharp drop in Chinese tourist visits over the Lunar New Year period and other economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Read more
The Dollar retreated again on Tuesday, largely driven lower by Fed rate cut expectations, with 25 basis points now fully priced into the Fed fund futures market. Incoming data weighed some on the greenback as well, as consumer confidence and the Richmond Fed index both missed expectations. Read more
The yen has picked up bids as stock markets in Europe sank and S&P 500 futures pared gains. A hiatus in risk aversion was seen for much of the Asian session before waning as markets in Europe struggled to shake off concerns about the economic impact the COVID-19 virus will have in Europe. Read more
Markets have have found a more even keel amid a hiatus from the virus panic. Some market commentaries point to a Wall Street Journal report on progress in developing a vaccine to COVID-19 virus. There is also remains reasons for optimism. For one, comparisons with regular flu provides perspective: Total deaths from COVID-19 stand at 2,619 worldwide (according to the John Hopkins monitor), which compares to the over 10k of deaths caused by regular flu in the U.S. Read more
