Dollar, yen gain as Trump’s positive COVID test sparks haven buying
The safe-haven yen and dollar rose on Friday after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, rattling investors just a month before November’s U.S. presidential election.
By afternoon trading, markets had calmed down, with the dollar and yen still up but moved in narrow ranges.
Data showing U.S. nonfarm payrolls rising less than expected in September, but with a drop in the unemployment rate, had little impact on currencies, as markets focused on Trump’s health.
The news sparked some selling on Wall Street, while U.S. Treasury prices were lower after an initial rally.
The yen made its sharpest gain in more than a month to reach a one-week high of 104.95 against the dollar, then steadied. The greenback was last down 0.2% at 105.365 yen.
Implied volatility gauges for the yen rose to a four-week high of 7.62 vols over the next month, signaling more choppy trading ahead.
Mike Schumacher, senior macro strategist at Wells Fargo Securities in New York, said Trump’s COVID diagnosis added a layer of uncertainty to an already volatile election season, but the sharp market reaction from earlier in the global session has faded a bit.
In afternoon trading, the dollar rose 0.1% against a basket of six major currencies to 93.823, but remains down 0.8% for the week, its biggest weekly drop since late August.
The euro fell 0.3% against the dollar to $1.1718.
Reference: CNBC
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