After several days of heavy losses against safe haven currencies, the US Dollar finally steadied in London trading. Nonetheless, analysts warn that the greenback’s risks remain elevated as the United States government attempts to mitigate the threatened fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic. The US President plans to hold a press conference later today to discuss measures that the government might take; later this week, the Secretary of the Treasury plans to meet with officials from the nation’s major banks before possibly rolling out additional measures. Currency strategists also believe that the oil price war is also putting pressure on the Dollar, but that the efforts to coordinate a response at the highest levels of the government could provide some reassurance for investors.
As of 10:05 am in London, the USD/JPY was trading at 104.5720 Yen, a gain of 2.25% and moving well off the session trough of 101.999 Yen. The EUR/USD was lower, trading at $1.1352, down 0.9104%; the pair has ranged from a low of $1.13319 to a peak of $1.14611. The USD/CHF was higher at 0.9334 Swiss Francs, up 0.77%.
The bounce in the US Dollar had provided a lift for higher-risk assets, but nerves crept back into trading. The New Zealand and Australia Dollars are both once again under sell pressure, with the NZD/USD and AUD/USD trading lower at $0.6308 and $0.6554, for a loss of 0.401% and 0.4768%, respectively. The Canadian Dollar managed to bounce back with the USD/CAD pair trading lower at C$1.3668, a loss of 0.19%; the pair had hit a of C$1.36082.