Forex Today: Risk-off at the weekly opening

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Monday, November 16:

The US continues to report record coronavirus infections. On Friday, the country informed over 184K new cases in the past 24 hours, while US President Donald Trump announced the imminent distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The announcement was taken with a pinch of salt and considered a political movement. Elections remain undefined as Trump refuses to concede and continues its legal battle.

Several US states have announced measures to fight the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, announcing curfews, and even localized lockdowns. The health system is not stressed in the US, but at the current pace of contagions, it won’t take long. In Europe, the situation is quite alike, although the health systems are on a brink of collapsing.

Brexit-related weekend news were also worrisome. Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the two sides are still apart on fishing rights, adding that if the UK passes the Internal Market Bill, chances of an agreement will be off. On Sunday, UK negotiator, David Frost, said that the UK will not change its stance as it seeks a post-Brexit deal with the EU. The United Kingdom has quite a scarce macroeconomic calendar this week, with nothing scheduled until Wednesday when the country will publish October inflation data.

Wall Street closed the week with substantial gains, despite persistent uncertainty about the presidential election and the pandemic. US Treasury yields retreated from weekly highs but finished it with gains.

Gold advanced on Friday and settled at $1,889.00 a troy ounce. Crude oil prices, on the other hand, remained under pressure and WTI closed at $40.00 a barrel.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP tests key Fibo resistance near $0.27

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FXStreet Team

FXStreet

EUR/USD turns negative near 1.1850

EUR/USD has given up its earlier intraday gains on Thursday and is now struggling to hold above the 1.1850 area. The US Dollar is finding renewed support from a pick-up in risk aversion, while fresh market chatter suggesting Russia could be considering a return to the US Dollar system is also lending the Greenback an extra boost.

GBP/USD change course, nears 1.3600

GBP/USD gives away its daily gains and recedes toward the low-1.3600s on Thursday. Indeed, Cable now struggles to regain some upside traction on the back of the sudden bout of buying interest in the Greenback. In the meantime, investors continue to assess a string of underwhelming UK data releases released earlier in the day.