Asian session review: the US dollar rose moderately against major currencies

During today's Asian trading, the euro fell against the US dollar, reaching its lowest level since November amid concerns about a jump in the incidence of coronavirus in Europe.

Some European countries, including Germany and France, have previously extended quarantine measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Tensions with China are also weighing on investor sentiment. The EU Foreign Affairs Council earlier decided to introduce restrictive measures under the sanctions regime for human rights violations, including against China. In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry decided to apply restrictive measures against a number of EU representatives.

The ICE index, which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose by 0.23%.

The Federal Reserve expects inflation to accelerate this year on the back of the economic recovery, said the head of the US Fed Jerome Powell at a hearing in the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

The pound fell significantly against the US dollar on the back of UK inflation data. According to the report from Office for National Statistics, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in the 12 months to February 2021, down from 0.7% to January 2020. Economists had expected a 0.8% increase. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.1% in February 2021, compared with a 0.4% rise in February 2020. Economists had expected a 0.5% increase.