Dollar Down, U.S.-China Tensions Rise
By Administrator_ India
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, edged down 0.11% to 92.942 by 10:31 AM ET (2:31 AM GMT).
On the COVID-19 front, the U.S., Russia and France all set new records for the number of daily COVID-19 cases. There are over 43.4 million cases globally as of Oct. 27, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Some investors were wary of the dollar’s prospects ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.
Some investors view a Biden victory, especially if combined with a Democrat Senate, as negative for the greenback as the Democrats are expected to introduce stimulus measures with big price tags to combat COVID-19, which is expected to improve investor sentiment and boost riskier currencies.
Investors are already starting to bet on a Biden victory, with positioning data showing long bets on the safe-haven yen shrinking for a fourth consecutive week. But a fall in short bets against the yen pointed to increased uncertainty about the election’s outcome.
The USD/JPY pair inched down 0.10% to 104.71.
The USD/CNY pair edged down 0.12% to 6.7038. U.S.-China tensions mounted over a potential $2.4 billion sale of U.S. anti-ship missiles to Taiwan, potentially encompassing as many as 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems built by Boeing. The systems in turn include up to 400 land-based missiles China reacted to the news by slapping sanctions on U.S. companies, including Lockheed Martin Boeing Defense and Raytheon “in order to uphold national interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party will set the nation’s next five-year plan within the week.
The AUD/USD pair edged up 0.17% to 0.7134 and the NZD/USD pair edged up 0.1% to 0.6690. The GBP/USD pair inched up 0.10% to 1.3037.
