The dollar and the yen rose higher on Thursday. This was as a result of the possibilities of a rise in COVID-19 cases and a second wave of the pandemic prompting increased demand for the currencies.
The British pound also traded in a narrow range ahead of a Bank of England meeting in which policymakers are expected to stretch out quantitative easing especially given the state of the economy as well as volatile trade negotiations with the European Union.
Junichi Ishikawa, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo explained that the “Upside for U.S. stocks and other risk assets has dwindled because more people are talking about the second wave of virus infections. This supports the dollar and the yen because they are both safe to havens. The pound has its own problems. The British economy is not in good shape and a hard Brexit remains a risk.”
The dollar traded at $1.1234 per euro on Thursday in Asia following a 0.2% gain in the previous session. The yen also increased to 106.79 against the dollar, while the Sterling went down to $1.2533 for its third day of losses.
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The cases have also risen in many states within the U.S. as well as the underlying travel restrictions. The situation being witnessed in both the US and China has made people especially concerned about the dangers of reopening the economy or easing restrictions too fast before a vaccine is found.
Britain, on the other hand, is seeking a free trade agreement with the EU, which it left earlier this year in January. The challenge is that owing to the little progress that had been made, there are worries that both will not reach an agreement before the end of 2020.