Euro cruises higher as dollar slips again
Reuters
London |
Updated on
× Currency traders scooped up riskier currencies and bonds at the expense of the safe-haven US dollar on Tuesday, after Washington’s lawmakers pushed forward with an enhanced Covid-19 relief package.
The House of Representatives voted on Monday to more than triple stimulus payments to Americans, to $2,000 from $600,sending the plan on to the Senate for a vote.
The euro and pound also strengthened as London reopened after its Christmas break still digesting the Christmas Eve EU-UK trade deal that, although not comprehensive, had avoided a damaging no-deal outcome.
Euro bulls pushed the single currency up to $1.2235,also buoyed by talk of a EU-China trade pact. The pound was back above $1.35 as the FTSE surged. The dollar index was down 0.3% near the lows of April 2018.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar pared losses on Tuesday after earlier reaching a more than two-year low against the euro, but remained lower on the day as investors weighed whether an increase in U.S. fiscal stimulus is likely.
FILE PHOTO: A picture illustration shows U.S. 100 dollar bank notes taken in Tokyo August 2, 2011. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked immediate consideration of a measure to increase COVID-19 relief payments to $2,000. He suggested the Senate would at least examine the issue.
“This just really delays the inevitable,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.