Forex Today: Sentiment could take a turn to the worse amid coronavirus explosion
Here is what you need to know on Friday, October 23:
The American dollar remained under selling pressure at the end of the week, amid political jitters in the US. Republicans and Democrats have continued to discuss a coronavirus stimulus aid package, reporting progress in discussions and indicating that they were “almost there” on an agreement. At the same time, however, politicians said that chances of a bill being approved before the presidential election are quite slim.
The EUR/USD pair settled at the upper end of its latest range, around 1.1860. Speculative interest ignored coronavirus-related news coming from the EU, as several countries reported record numbers of new cases while the health systems are showing their first signs of stress.
Governments have refused to impose full lockdowns, but are clearly moving in such direction, which will mean a further delay in a possible economic recovery. Things in the US, however, are no better, as the country a record high of 82,668 cases on Saturday. The world reported roughly 490K new contagions on Friday.
GBP/USD finished the week above 1.3000, with limited bullish potential. Investors are cautiously optimistic about Brexit talks after French President Emmanuel Macron has said to the local fishing industry to brace for impact, somehow indicated that a deal is closer.
Commodity-linked currencies held within familiar levels throughout the week, trapped between the broad US dollar’s weakness and lower gold and oil prices. Gold settled around $1,900 a troy ounce while WTI finished the week below $40.00 a barrel.
The US presidential campaign heated up after the final debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. As of today, Biden is still leading national polls, although Trump seems to be cutting off the distance as the date approaches.
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FXStreet Team
FXStreet
