Sterling and Euro rallied against the dollar on Monday

 The dollar tumbled down against other major currencies on Monday. At the same time, the sterling and the Euro rallied due to signs that the European Union and Britain could make some progress negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal.

 

Still, sentiment across markets remained mixed on Monday, caught between fears of a surge of Covid-19 cases and hopes for a working vaccine. The greenback softened marginally against a basket of currencies, trading at 92.565 in Asia.

 

On Sunday, Britain’s top Brexit negotiator David Frost announced that Britain and the EU had made some progress in their post-Brexit trade deal negotiations. However, he added that they might fail in getting an agreement.

 

Sumino Kamei, the senior analyst at MUFG Bank, noted that this topic remains an uncertain catalyst. Prices could fluctuate nervously on the following news.

 

Meanwhile, the British pound soared against the greenback, trading at 1.3226 per dollar. The sterling gained against the Euro as well, at last changing hands at 89.61 pence per Euro. The common currency also climbed up 0.16% higher at 1.1854 per dollar.

 

Global markets rallied last week due to investors optimism that a vaccine for coronavirus would be available soon. The dollar jumped as traders abandoned their long-yen positions.

 

Masafumi Yamamoto, the chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities, stated that currency moves which were caused by vaccine news had taken a pause. U.S. interest rates and stocks went into correction mode at the end of the week due to no additional, positive news on the vaccine, while dollar/yen dropped down.

 

How did the Japanese yen and other currencies fare?

 

The yen climbed up to 104.49 per dollar after posting its worst weekly performance since early June last week. Meanwhile, the total coronavirus cases in the U.S. overcome 11 million on Sunday, as the pace of the pandemic quickened. Mizuho Yamamoto noted that uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election has declined over the weekend. According to him, it became more certain that Joe Biden secured more votes. As a result, investors can take risks easier on hopes that the next administration would soon take measures against the coronavirus.

 

Yamamoto thinks that the greenback could strengthen versus the yen if U.S. bonds and stocks manage to maintain their upward moment.

 

Australian dollar traders are waiting for upcoming events, with Governor Philip Lowe scheduled to speak later today. The Australian central bank’s November meeting minutes are also due on Tuesday.

 

The Aussie climbed up slightly at $0.7287 per dollar in Asian trade. The New Zealand dollar also edged up by  0.42% to $0.6874.