News: FOREX-Dollar falls to lowest level in almost 3 months as investors flock to risk

• Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

(Updates prices, adds comment)

The dollar index hit an almost three-month low on Friday after strong economic data from China pushed investors toward riskier currencies and equity markets extended their rally.

The dollar has fallen more than 2% so far this month after Democratic U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's election victory and positive COVID-19 vaccine progress, which has reduced demand for safe havens.

New Zealand's dollar hit its highest level in more than three years, while the Australian dollar scaled September levels after data showed October profits at China's industrial firms grew at their quickest pace since early 2017.

The British pound declined against the euro as the European Union and Britain said substantial differences remained over a Brexit trade deal as the EU chief negotiator prepared to travel to London in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis.

Along with the data and Brexit headlines, Erik Bregar, head of FX strategy at Exchange Bank of Canada in Toronto, cited month-end selling of the U.S. dollar as investors balance portfolios after solid monthly gains for equities.

"There's been talk all week that the U.S. dollar will see waves of selling going into Monday," said Bregar who also noted "dollar selling into the London fix every day this week."

But with many U.S. traders still on vacation a day after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday, Bipan Rai, North America head of FX Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets, said thinner trading volume was likely exaggerating the dollar move.

"It started with the impressive industrial profits data in China and that's translating into what is a very patchy backdrop for liquidity in the North American time zone," said Rai.

However, "over the longer term this is probably the right trend for the dollar. We think the dollar has further room to the downside," he added.

Wall Street indexes advanced, with the Nasdaq closing at a record high, in Friday's truncated session as retailers kicked off the year-end shopping season and COVID-19 hospitalizations hit records.

The dollar =USD was last down 0.24% against a basket of major currencies after hitting $91.756, the lowest since Sept. 1. But it stopped short of hitting the September low of $91.737, which was last reached in April 2018.

The Australian dollar - seen as a proxy for risk along with other commodity currencies like the Kiwi and the Canadian dollar - was last up 0.41% AUD=D3 .

The U.S. dollar was last down 0.23% against Canada's loonie CAD=3 while the Kiwi was up 0.21% against the greenback.

Sterling was down 0.45% against the dollar and the euro was up 0.78% against the British currency.

Citing Brexit, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said an independence vote should take place in the earlier part of the devolved parliament's next term, which begins next year.

The euro was up 0.39% at $1.1952 EUR=EBS , barely reacting to downbeat comments from the European Central Bank's chief economist Philip Lane on Thursday.

			Currency bid prices at 2:11PM (1911 GMT) 
 Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
											  Previous				   Change				  
											  Session											
 Dollar index	  =USD	   $91.8080	   92.0380	 -0.24%		 +0.00%	  +92.0530	+91.7560 
 Euro/Dollar	   EUR=EBS	$1.1956		$1.1910	 +0.39%		 +6.65%	  +1.1962	 +1.1908 
 Dollar/Yen		JPY=D3	 0.0000		 104.2500	-0.19%		 -4.20%	  +104.2650   +103.9200 
 Euro/Yen		  EURJPY=	124.38		 124.18	  +0.16%		 +1.99%	  +124.4200   +123.9000 
 Dollar/Swiss	  CHF=EBS	0.9045		 0.9077	  -0.24%		 -6.43%	  +0.9082	 +0.9041 
 Sterling/Dollar   GBP=D3	 1.3300		 1.3361	  -0.45%		 +0.29%	  +1.3381	 +1.3294 
 Dollar/Canadian   CAD=D3	 1.2986		 1.3015	  -0.23%		 -0.05%	  +1.3024	 +1.2972 
 Aussie/Dollar	 AUD=D3	 0.7385		 0.7358	  +0.41%		 +5.29%	  +0.7399	 +0.7354 
 Euro/Swiss		EURCHF=	1.0817		 1.0796	  +0.19%		 -0.32%	  +1.0827	 +1.0795 
 Euro/Sterling	 EURGBP=	0.8988		 0.8918	  +0.78%		 +6.32%	  +0.8993	 +0.8916 
 NZ				NZD=D3	 0.7023		 0.7011	  +0.21%		 +4.41%	  +0.7039	 +0.7001 
 Dollar/Dollar																				   

 Dollar/Norway	 NOK=D3	 8.8310		 8.8770	  -0.34%		 +0.85%	  +8.8805	 +8.8210 
 Euro/Norway	   EURNOK=	10.5655		10.5680	 -0.02%		 +7.40%	  +10.5900	+10.5380 
 Dollar/Sweden	 SEK=	   8.4907		 8.5180	  +0.01%		 -9.17%	  +8.5389	 +8.4907 
 Euro/Sweden	   EURSEK=	10.1520		10.1505	 +0.01%		 -3.03%	  +10.1780	+10.1496