- Aussie, Canadian, NZealand dollar fall vs greenback
- Sterling hits 3-month low on 'Freedom Day'
- Dollar supported by risk aversion
- Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(Adds new comment, FX table, updates prices, changes dateline; previous LONDON)
The safe-haven U.S. dollar, yen, and Swiss franc rose on Monday as investors grew nervous about a raging coronavirus variant that could threaten the outlook for global economic recovery.
The greenback climbed to a more than three-month peak against a basket of major currencies, but has come off its highs as the yen and Swiss franc advanced with the decline in risk appetite.
The U.S. dollar though remained sharply higher against risk-sensitive currencies such as the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand dollars.
The yen, meanwhile, climbed to its highest in 1-1/2 months versus the dollar. The Delta variant of COVID-19 is now the dominant strain worldwide, accompanied by a surge of deaths around the United States almost entirely among unvaccinated people, U.S. officials said on Friday.
U.S. cases of COVID-19 are up 70% over the previous week and deaths are up 26%, with outbreaks occurring in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said during a press briefing.
"The Delta variant concerns are triggering this flight to safety across the world," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online FX trading platform OANDA in New York. "There's just this tremendous amount of nervousness, which is good for the dollar and the Japanese yen."
In mid-morning trading, the dollar index, which measures its value against six major currencies, rose to its highest since April 5. But it was last flat on the day at 92.655 =USD .
The dollar was firmly higher against commodity currencies. It rose 1% against the Canadian dollar to C$1.2752 CAD=D3 . The Aussie dollar dropped 0.7% versus the greenback to US$0.7343 AUD=D3 , while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.8% to US$0.6940 NZD=D3 .
The yen surged on Monday, rising to its highest since late May against the greenback, which was last down 0.8% at 109.16 yen JPY=EBS
The Swiss franc gained as well, pushing the dollar down 0.3% to 0.9171 franc CHF=EBS With England lifting all COVID-19 social restrictions on what some local media has dubbed "Freedom Day", the continued spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus drew further doubt from investors about whether a total economic recovery to pre-pandemic levels is possible.
Over the weekend, British health minister Sajid Javid announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in self-isolation, also forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak into quarantine. Sterling hit a 3-month low against the dollar of $1.3703. GBP=D3
The pound was last down 0.4% at $1.3694. The euro was little changed against the dollar at $1.1810 EUR=EBS , after earlier dropping to a three-month low of $1.1764. Investors will look to this week's European Central Bank meeting.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 10:13AM (1413 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index =USD 92.7110 92.6590 +0.07% 3.034% +93.0410 +92.6270 Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1814 $1.1805 +0.08% -3.30% +$1.1824 +$1.1764 Dollar/Yen JPY=EBS 109.2050 110.0800 -0.78% +5.71% +110.0950 +109.0700 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 129.01 129.96 -0.73% +1.65% +129.9700 +128.9000 Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9171 0.9197 -0.24% +3.70% +0.9221 +0.9164 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 $1.3696 $1.3764 -0.48% +0.26% +$1.3767 +$1.3690 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2770 1.2621 +1.24% +0.34% +1.2807 +1.2614 Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 $0.7337 $0.7401 -0.86% -4.62% +$0.7403 +$0.7329 Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0833 1.0852 -0.18% +0.24% +1.0862 +1.0830 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8626 0.8572 +0.63% -3.48% +0.8627 +0.8565 NZ NZD=D3 $0.6937 $0.7000 -0.93% -3.43% +$0.7004 +$0.6922 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK=D3 8.9300 8.8575 +0.96% +4.14% +8.9615 +8.8695 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.5500 10.4553 +0.91% +0.81% +10.5710 +10.4225 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.6769 8.6755 +0.04% +5.86% +8.7271 +8.6692 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.2512 10.2466 +0.04% +1.73% +10.2691 +10.2448 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5EDollar resilient https://tmsnrt.rs/3kymWHu
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