Forex Today: Mood improves, dollar advances

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to know on Tuesday, November 30:

Fears receded on Monday after panic dominated financial markets on Friday when stocks markets collapsed following the announcement of a new covid variant discovered in South Africa named Omicron. However, the market’s reaction may have been exacerbated by thin market conditions due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

Anyway, up to today, the market knows little about the new strain. However, Pfizer announced its testing its vaccine on a new variant, while Moderna announced it would have a new shot ready for early on 2022 if needed. Also, US President Joe Biden made a press conference to update the country on the matter. Biden said that the new strain is of concern but should not trigger panic, adding that lockdowns are not required at the time being.

Stocks fell in Asia, but European and American indexes posted gains, reflecting the better mood. US government bond yields ticked higher, with the 10-year Treasury note yielding 1.53% ahead of Wall Street’s close.

European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Pablo Hernandez de Cos said this Monday that European policymakers aim to avoid the premature tightening of the monetary policy, repeating that high inflation could be expected to be transitory, despite being stronger and more persistent than anticipated a few months ago. German inflation printed at 6% YoY in November, according to preliminary estimates.

The greenback trades mostly higher against its major rivals, although volatility was limited. The EUR/USD pair trades around 1.1260, while GBP/USD is below the 1.3300 threshold. USD/CAD is at 1.2760, while the AUD/USD pair is close to the year low at 0.7105. Safe-haven currencies bounced modestly, with the USD/JPY pair now at 113.80.

Gold edged modestly lower after flirting with the 1,800 level, now trading at around $1,782 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices also ticked lower, with the barrel of WTI currently at $70.40.

XRP price on edge of cliff as Ripple faces imminent collapse

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Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

EUR/USD deflates to fresh lows, targets 1.1600

The selling pressure on EUR/USD now gathers extra pace, prompting the pair to hit fresh multi-week lows in the 1.1625-1.1620 band on Friday. The continuation of the downward bias comes in response to further gains in the US Dollar as market participants continue to assess the mixed release of US Nonfarm Payrolls in December.

GBP/USD breaks below 1.3400, challenges the 200-day SMA

GBP/USD remains under heavy fire and retreats for the fourth consecutive day on Friday. Indeed, Cable suffers the strong performance of the Greenback, intensified post-mixed NFP, and trades at shouting distance from its critical 200-day SMA near 1.3380.

Gold flirts with yearly tops around $4,500

Gold keeps its positive bias on Friday, adding to Thursday’s advance and challenging yearly highs in the $4,500 region per troy ounce. The risk-off sentiment favours the yellow metal despite the firmer tone in the Greenback and rising US Treasury yields.