The US Dollar Was Steadily Rising

The US dollar rose against major currencies on Monday. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan fell amid concerns that the world’s second-largest economy is facing a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus.

As the nation deals with numerous COVID-19 flare-ups, Beijing, China’s capital, reported two deaths on November 20. The city’s most populous district requested that residents remain home on Monday.

The rising number of cases and deaths has raised questions about whether strict pandemic restrictions suffocating the economy can be eased ahead of time. The dollar index compares the greenback to six major currencies. It increased 0.412% to 107.330 on Monday, reaching its highest since November 11. The index gained 0.5% last week, its biggest weekly gain in a month, as investors flocked to the safe-haven currency.

Investors will be looking for hints on how high officials expect interest rates to rise in the minutes from the Fed’s November meeting, which will come on Wednesday.

Cryptos

Cryptocurrencies were also under pressure, with bitcoin falling 0.63% to $16,153.00. FTX owes nearly $3.1B to its 50 largest creditors. The euro fell 0.46% to $1.0277, continuing its downward trend for a third straight day, remaining at its lowest level since November 14, while the pound sterling traded at $1.1831, down 0.47% on the day.

The pound begins the new week on the back of a continued recovery in global stock markets and a positive investor reaction to last Thursday’s Autumn Statement, in which the government pledged to keep the nation’s finances on a stable footing in the coming years.  According to Western Union Business Solutions analyst George Vessey, the GBP/EUR exchange rate should test a key resistance level in the coming days. GBP/EUR eventually reached a post-Brexit trading high near 1.22 in March this year before reversing course and falling below its 200-week SMA in September.