US Efforts Ease Worries, Push Dollar Lower

The US Dollar was broadly lower for a third straight day during London trade on Wednesday as the latest stopgap measures has been Dollar lowertentatively agreed to by the US Senate and is scheduled for a vote later in the day. That deal is worth about $2 trillion and promises to put money into the hands of US taxpayers in an effort to alleviate financial worries related to the Coronavirus pandemic. News that a deal has been brokered in the US helped to boost risk-sensitive currencies including the Australian Dollar which managed to push over the $0.60 level for the first time in five trading sessions. The Kiwi Dollar and the British Pound also moved higher after the announcement. Analysts are calling the efforts by the US government and Federal Reserve to provide an abundance of liquidity a “fiscal bazooka.”

As of 9:28 am in London, the AUD/USD was trading higher at $0.6060, a gain of 1.4975%; the pair has ranged from a trough of $0.59346 to a high of $0.60744 in today's trading session. The NZD/USD was also higher at $0.5891, up 1.0843% and off the earlier peak of $0.59141. The GBP/USD was trading at $1.1926, a gain of 1.4979%; the pair's range in this trading session is $1.17330 at the low end and $1.19484 at the high end.

Mixed Data Out of UK and EU

The Pound could also be benefiting from today's release of data from the Office of National Statistics. While largely a mixed bag of results, the key data points included news that core PPI rose in February (year-over-year) to 1.7% against an expected fall to 1.5%. The Consumer Price Index came in as expected at 1.7% (year-over-year). The Retail Price Index was also reported in the money at the expected 0.5% for February, significantly higher than the previous reading of -0.4%. Also out today is Germany IFO surveys which were largely disappointing. Business climate, current assessment and expectations were all lower than predicted at 86.1, 93 and 79.7. The EUR/GBP was trading lower at 0.9083 Pence, a loss of 0.9799%.

Barbara Zigah

After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.