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Demand for USD surges

Daily Currency Update

USD - United States Dollar


The US dollar surged against major currencies on Wednesday as shaky financial markets drove demand for the safe-haven asset. Energy shortages in China – driven by local COVID-19 lockdowns – have brought about concerns over how it could impact growth, leading to banks downgrading their 2021 growth forecasts. The US Dollar Index was up 0.51%, trading around 94.24 at the time of writing.

The USD gained against the pound, the euro, the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar. Other safe haven currencies such as the JPY and CHF have also appreciated against a basket of currencies in the past 24 hours.

Key Movers

EURUSD tumbled below 1.1650 as demand for USD surged due to COVID-19 Delta uncertainties and higher US Treasury yields.

The pound continued to lose considerable ground against the euro and US dollar this morning after a dip on Tuesday . UK news has been dominated by negative headlines recently with UK gas prices rising to record highs, fuel stations being bombarded with panicked consumers, weakening growth and rising inflation. GBPUSD was down 0.72%, trading around 1.3441 at the time of writing.

The Australian dollar fell overnight, unable to sustain the advance above 0.73 US cents, amid growing concerns surrounding the global growth outlook. The whispering of a re-emergence in the reflation narrative we saw at the beginning of the week quickly vanished as investors looked to safe haven assets, prompting broad based US dollar gains. AUDUSD was down 0.65%, trading around 0.7193 at the time of writing.

Expected Ranges

  • EUR/USD: 1.1613 - 1.1689 ▲
  • GBP/USD: 1.3424 - 1.3553 ▲
  • AUD/USD: 0.7182 - 0.7262 ▲
  • USD/CAD: 1.2669 - 1.2755 ▲