Major currencies fluctuated during the last days. The Australian dollar declined by 0.43% to $0.5934, while the New Zealand dollar fell by 0.24% to $0.5837.
Both the Aussie and the kiwi dropped down to multi-year lows earlier this month as panicking investors liquidated positions in favor of holding the greenback in cash deposits.
On the other hand, the euro gained 0.31% to $1.0912 on Thursday. The currency increased against the Swiss franc, trading at 1.0631. Sterling, however, slid by 0.45% to 92.02 pence per euro.
Meanwhile, the German lower house approved a debt-financed supplementary budget of 156 billion euros on Wednesday. It is an attempt to keep companies afloat and pay for healthcare.
The pound continues to decline against the dollar. Moreover, it fell versus the euro due to worries that Britain is ill-prepared for an increasing number of coronavirus cases. Especially in the light of overwhelmed healthcare systems in Italy and Spain.
The currency fell early in Asian trade after the British authorities stated that the total number of coronavirus cases in the U.K. rose to 9,529 on Wednesday from 8,077 the previous day.
How does the U.S. dollar fare?
The dollar declined versus the euro and the Japanese yen on Thursday. Analysts expect that the new U.S. data will show a surge in unemployment benefit claims. This is due to the firms laying off workers as the coronavirus spreads rapidly.
The U.S. currency dropped down by 0.69% to 110.47 yen on Thursday. Furthermore, the dollar slid by 0.34% to 0.9739 against the Swiss franc.
However, investors welcomed the passage of a $2 trillion U.S. stimulus package to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemy. Even so, reports show that some U.S. states will need more money for medical supplies as the healthcare system struggles to cope with infection.
Tohru Sasaki, head of Japan markets research at JP Morgan Securities in Tokyo, noted that it may be difficult for the markets to digest weekly jobless claims. The bad numbers are expected and even priced to a certain extent. But some people still think that things will get worse. If the investors choose to bring their money home, the dollar may find more support.
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