SINGAPORE, July 21 ― Progress toward both a coronavirus vaccine and a fiscal rescue package in Europe put the dollar under pressure and supported commodity currencies and the euro today. European Union leaders appear close to an agreement on a massive stimulus plan for the bloc as the summit...
Against a basket of currencies the dollar traded at a more than four-month low of 95.687 while the pound extended overnight gains to a one month high of US$1.2683. — Reuters pic
Hopes for a breakthrough pushed the euro to a four-month high of US$1.1467 and it held just below that level at US$1.1460 in early Asian trade. The New Zealand dollar rose 0.2 per cent and the Australian dollar added 0.1 per cent to hold above 70 US cents. The Japanese yen was steady at 107.23 per dollar.
On the vaccine front, drugs developed by Britain's AstraZeneca with Oxford University and by CanSino Biologics with China's military research unit showed they were safe and produced an immune response in early trials.Traders' focus today in Asia is on Australia's central bank, which releases minutes from last month's meeting at 0130 GMT and a speech from Governor Philip Lowe at 0300 GMT.
“We are in a very different situation to where we were a month ago in terms of the virus ― how rattled are they, if at all, on that?” said Westpac FX analyst Sean Callow.The Aussie was last a touch firmer at US$0.7025. The kiwi held at US$0.6581, close to the top of its range this month.
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