TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar went down from news of President Trump rejecting a threat to block the COVID-19 aid bill in a thin trade Monday with many investors on holiday.
The pound went above a 2 1/2 year high in an Asian session following last week’s agreement of a narrow Brexit trade deal that does not cover the British financial sector.
The dollar index remained little changed at 90.224, after a three-day slide.
Sterling rose 0.1% to $ 1.3544, pouring water below the 2 1/2-year level of $ 1.3625 that hit earlier this month.
Trump signed into law the $ 2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, officials said Sunday night, halting the partial closure of a federal government.
Earlier he tweeted loudly, “Good news for the Covid Relief Bill. Details to follow! “It had previously called for an increase in motivational studies for struggling Americans to $ 2,000 from $ 600.
The euro slipped 0.1% to $ 1.2199, returning from the 2 1/2-year high of $ 1.2273 this month.
While last week’s Brexit deal came as a relief to investors, the bare bones nature of the agreement leaves Britain far more detached from the EU, analysts say, suggesting that the rebate will not UK funding since 2016 is about to expire.
Brussels has not yet made a decision on whether to give Britain access to the bloc’s financial market.
Mitsuo Imaizumi, chief FX strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo, expects the pound and the euro to decline against the dollar, reaching $ 1.30 and $ 1.15 respectively by the end of the summer.
“Whatever the Brexit deal, the cable will be down,” he said.
“Buy the rumor, sell the truth.”
The dollar remained unchanged at 103.63 yen.
Central Japan’s policymakers were divided on how far they should go in examining product loop control with some calling for a complete overhaul of the framework, a summary of comments submitted showed expressed at the December rate review on Monday.
Reciting with Kevin Buckland; Edited by Stephen Coates