The Japanese yen gained for the first time in more than a week on Wednesday. Traders were cautious, waiting for key European and U.S. economic data. The yen increased by almost 0.3% to 107.635 versus the dollar.
The dollar also jumped overnight before losing gains. Investors expect U.S. manufacturing data for June to show rebound inactivity. The greenback rose around 0.2% at 97.407 against a basket of currencies later.
ING strategists stated that markets would probably take the forward-looking indicator with caution given the rising coronavirus cases in the U.S.
Meanwhile, eurozone manufacturing PMI and German unemployment data remain the main focus.
On Wednesday, the euro traded flat at $1.12275. According to ING, in line with the generally calmer trend in F.X. markets, EUR/USD should stay at around 1.1200 during today’s session.
Traders have been betting that surges in new infections in the U.S. south and southwest will not hinder a broader global economic recovery. However, U.S. COVID-19 cases jumped by more than 47,000 on Tuesday, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic. And the government’s top infectious disease expert stated that the number could soon double.
As a result, the European Union has excluded America from its initial “safe list” of countries from which the E.U. will allow non-essential travel from Wednesday onwards.
What about the Aussie and kiwi?
The riskier Australian and New Zealand dollars tumbled down in overnight trading before recovering. Versus the greenback, the Aussie traded at 0.6908 and the kiwi at 0.6458.
Geopolitical tensions rose as China made the first arrest under new national security law, which limits the autonomy of Hong Kong. The United States and its allies criticized the authoritarian legislation.
Meanwhile, the Swedish crown traded flat after the Riksbank kept rates unchanged, at 0%. After a jump in March, the crown recovered to its pre-coronavirus levels at the start of May and remained stable. It was at 10.466 against the euro on Wednesday, lower by approximately 0.1%.
On the other hand, the Norwegian crown rose around 0.3% against the euro to a one-week high of 10.7785.
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