The United States Dollar declined on February 16, as vaccine optimism lifter the sterling to an almost three-year high. Moreover, boosting oil prices and buoyant expectations for global rebound supported commodity-linked currencies.
Furthermore, in trade thinned by Lunar New Year holidays in China and Monday’s U.S. holiday, the positive mood also declined safe-haven yen. It touched a one-week low on the greenback overnight and fell to more than two-year lows on the euro and the Australian dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, touched 90.351, near to a two-week low it struck last Wednesday.
The Chinese yuan held at 6.4 per dollar for the first time since mid-2018 and last stood at 6.4033 in offshore trade.
Moreover, the Australian dollar stood near Monday’s one-month high at $0.7785.
The most famous cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, fluctuated near $50,000. Significantly, BTC boosted by more than 60% in 2021.
Sterling has gained 2.5% on the greenback in less than two weeks
The yield on benchmark ten-year U.S. Treasuries surged five basis points to 1.2501% in early Asia trade on Monday. Meanwhile, most major currencies were steady.
The British pound, which surpassed $1.39 for the first time in almost three years on Monday, held at $1.3912. The sterling also held steady at 87.15 pence per euro, a level unseen since May 2020.
Sterling has gained 2.5% on the greenback in less than two weeks as the aggressive rollout of Britain’s coronavirus vaccination program has boosted expectations its economy will be capable of rebounding faster than European peers’.
The euro was steady at $1.2132 on February 16, while the yen, which has declined 2% so far this year, nursed losses at 105.36 per dollar. The yen also touched its lowest since late 2018 versus the euro and the risk-sensitive Australian dollar and reached a three-year low on the Switzerland franc.
Moreover, according to Francesco Pesole, currency strategist at Dutch bank ING, the yen has been the worst-performingcurrency of 2021.
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