The U.S dollar closed high on Monday, hitting a six-week high, as currency traders and global investors rushed into the safe-haven currency.
This is coming on growing COVID-19 fears and worries over the U.S. Congress’ stimulus impasse drove a heavy sell-off in almost all other assets that include gold, Bitcoin, and Stocks.
What we know; At the time this report was drafted, Bitcoin traded at $10,463.98 with a daily trading volume of $23,554,819,012. BTC price is down -4.6% in the last 24 hours.
READ: U.S dollar drops lower, as U.S Federal Reserve plans on boosting inflation
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.84%, the S&P 500 lost 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.13%.
Gold spot lost about 2.1% to trade at $1,909.05 per ounce on Monday, after falling as much as 3.4% earlier in the session, its lowest since Aug. 12. U.S. gold futures settled down 2.6% at 1,910.60.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7% pressured by miners and energy stocks, while China’s blue-chip index shed 0.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.5%. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday
READ: U.S stock futures trade flat, Apple regains $2 trillion market value
However, at the time this report was drafted, U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, dropped some gains to trade at 93.608
Quick fact: The U.S. Dollar Index tracks the greenback against a basket of major global currencies such as the Japanese yen, British pound sterling, Swedish Krona, Euro, etc. Individuals hoping to meet foreign exchange payment obligations via dollar transactions to countries like Europe, and Japan, would need to pay more dollars in fulfilling such payment obligations.
READ: FIRS generates N490 billion tax revenue in July, collects 89% from non-oil sector
Stephen Innes, Chief Global Market Strategist at AxiCorp in a note to Nairametrics gave vital insights on the safe-haven currency, saying:
“The US dollar is stronger this morning on the back of a marked drop in risk appetite in European and US markets, but off overnight highs, as US stocks are rebounding in good order.
“Two factors explain much of the risk aversion. Banking shares are sharply lower following the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report examining bank behavior in the context of Suspicious Activity Reports. Travel and leisure names are weaker in Europe on the back of continued angst around the rising COVID-19 case count in the Eurozone and the UK.
“The fickle nature of currency trading these days suggests that as US stocks fall, the USD rises, reflecting the USD’s dominance in demand when there are big down moves in risk sentiment.”
