- Traders on tenterhooks as U.S. election goes to the wire
- Cable hit by report BOE considering negative rates
- Dollar also in focus before Fed meeting
The dollar hunkered down to trade in a tight range against most currencies as investors awaited final vote counts in a nail-biting U.S. election that has seen Democrat Joe Biden edge ever so closer to the White House.
Financial markets, however, were braced for days or even weeks of uncertainty as Republican incumbent President Donald Trump has opened a multi-pronged attack on vote counts in several states by pursuing lawsuits and a recount.
That could hamper the dollar in the short run, traders say. Elsewhere, sterling fell against the dollar and the euro after a media report that the Bank of England, which announces a policy decision later on Thursday, is considering negative interest rates.
The Federal Reserve, which is expected to keep policy on hold on Thursday, is also in focus as traders navigate market volatility in the wake of a knife-edge U.S. election that has pushed up the yuan and the Mexican peso.
Biden has claimed the pivotal Midwestern states of Wisconsin and Michigan. Results from other important swing states are expected to trickle in later in the day.
Expectations that a Biden win will take a slightly softer tone on trade policy is likely to weaken the dollar against the currencies of countries that often faced the threat of tariffs during Trump's administration, analysts said.
"The moves in the yuan and the peso show that the market is trying to price in a Biden victory," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
"For slightly different reasons, we could also see the euro gain against the dollar."
The euro EUR=EBS bought $1.1736 in Asia on Thursday, steady from the previous session.
The British pound GBP=D3 fell 0.19% to $1.2967. Against the euro, the pound EURGBP=D3 fell 0.3% to 90.55 pence.
The dollar was little changed at 104.37 yen JPY=D3 . Even if Biden manages to surmount the legal challenges from Trump to become the next president, Republicans look likely to retain control of the Senate and can use that to stymie Biden's fiscal policy agenda - another complicating factor for currency traders.
Investors in Asia will closely watch to see if the onshore yuan CNY=CFXS extends gains versus the dollar when trade opens later today, as China's currency has become a popular trade to bet on a Biden victory.
The Mexican peso MXN= , which had suffered from the Trump administration's hard line on trade, was steady at 20.94 after jumping by 0.9% on Wednesday.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:08AM (0080 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1736 $1.1725 +0.09% +4.67% +1.1738 +1.1722 Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 104.3700 104.5000 -0.13% -3.92% +104.4900 +104.3600 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 122.48 122.53 -0.04% +0.43% +122.6200 +122.4400 Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9111 0.9119 -0.07% -5.82% +0.9127 +0.9112 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 1.2967 1.2993 -0.19% -2.22% +1.2990 +1.2930 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.3124 1.3136 -0.06% +1.05% +1.3138 +1.3126 Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 0.7181 0.7178 +0.04% +2.34% +0.7185 +0.7165 NZ NZD=D3 0.6702 0.6706 -0.04% -0.39% +0.6702 +0.6688 Dollar/DollarAll spots FX= Tokyo spots AFX= Europe spots EFX= Volatilities FXVOL= Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ TKYFX
