Sentiment for the US Dollar continues to erode after the US President failed to provide market players with any kind of comfort or reassurance regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. In an Oval Office speech, Mr. Trump had little in the way of details on the US effort to combat the fallout from the virus, from a health standpoint as well as an economic one. That sent the US Dollar broadly lower, but especially against safe haven currencies. Wall Street continued to be hammered on investor worries with analysts saying now we've shifted to a Bear market environment.
As of 10:07 am in London, the USD/JPY was trading at 103.7800 Yen, a loss of 0.61%; the pair has ranged from a trough of 103.077 Yen to a high of 104.811 Yen. The USD/CHF was trading lower also, at 0.9387 Swiss Francs, down 0.09% and moving off the session peak of 0.94045 Swiss Francs.
Markets Looking to Central Banks
One currency strategist in Singapore said that because the President's speech lacked substance as to what the government intended to do to halt the spread and minimize the repercussions, that many investors are hoping that the Federal Reserve will pick up the slack with actionable monetary policy; the futures market suggests that investors foresee the Fed moving to a zero interest rate environment before the end of the month. In the interim, markets will be anxious to see how the European Central Bank addresses the growing fears; they meet later today.