The US Dollar is set to record its largest single week's decline in more than ten years after several of the world's global banks announced a concerted effort to provide liquidity. The US has led the effort with the announcement of a $2.2 trillion stimulus package. The relief from their efforts helped to calm market worries of a global recession as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Earlier in the week, US labor data showed a staggering 3.3 million new claims for unemployment benefit, far above the 1 million that had been predicted. Previous to this, the largest single week's claims had occurred in 1982 when 695,000 were recorded.
As of 10:37 am in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading at 108.6670 Yen, a loss of 0.7548%; the pair has ranged from a low of 108.552 Yen to a high of 109.751 Yen in this trading session. The GBP/USD was trading at $1.2195, up 0.353% and off the session peak of $1.22142. The EUR/USD was also higher at $1.1045, a gain of 0.126%, off the session low of $1.10203.
High Risk Currencies Gain on Greenback
High risk currencies were also able to benefit from the market's shift in Dollar sentiment, including the Australia and New Zealand Dollars. The Aussie Dollar, in fact, moved back off its 17-year trough and gained about 10%. The AUD/USD was trading higher at $0.6086, a gain of 0.6949%, while the NZD/USD was higher at $0.5981, up 0.7122%. Later in the day, the US stimulus package will be voted on in the US House of Representatives; it is expected to pass and be presented to the President for his signature.