The dollar declines, while euro and pound increases

On Tuesday, the U.S. dollar fluctuated near two and a half year low. Investors were encouraged to take on more risk as U.S. lawmakers pushed forward with an enhanced coronavirus relief package.

On December 28, the House of Representatives voted to raise stimulus payments to qualified Americans to $2,000 from $600, sending the measure to the Senate for a vote.

Additionally, last week’s Brexit agreement, also supported the outlook for a global extension, boosting Asian stocks on Tuesday following Wall Street gains.

According to Tokyo Branch Manager of State Street Bank and Trust, Bart Wakabayashi, optimism is generally coming from equity markets.

The U.S. dollar fell by 0.1% and settled at 90.125 in holiday-thinned trading. It fluctuated near the 89.723 level reached on December 17 for the first time since April 2018.

short positions on the dollar increased to $26.6 billion

According to data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday, short positions on the dollar increased in the week ended December 21 to $26.6 billion, the record high in three months.

The euro climbed 0.2% and touched $1.22375 in the Asian session. This is close to its two and a half year high of 1.22735, reached earlier this month.

The dollar against the yen stood at 103.694 yen, little changed versus another safe-haven currency.

The British pound boosted by 0.2% and settled at $1.3484 following a two-day fall. It was as high as $1.3625 this month, for the first time since May 2018.

The Australian dollar increased by 0.2% and settled at 75.927 U.S. cents, while the New Zealand dollar boosted by 0.3% and touched 71.19 U.S. cents.

Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan advanced by 0.2% and touched 6.5192 per dollar in the offshore market while onshore yuan little changed at 6.530 per dollar.

The dominant cryptocurrency Bitcoin fell by 2.4% and traded at $26,367, while on Sunday, it increased to its all-time high of $28,377.94