Asian session review: The US dollar rose against most currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against the yen, but declined against the euro. 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%.

Yesterday's US data remained in the focus of investors ' attention. The estimate of US GDP growth in the 4th quarter of 2020 was improved to 4.3% from 4.1%, according to the final data of the US Department of Commerce. The number of new applications for unemployment benefits in the United States last week fell to the lowest for the year (684 thousand).

The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Charles Evans, said that it is possible that the US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates until 2024. However, he noted that the Fed may take action earlier in the event of a steady acceleration in inflation.

The pound, which rose strongly against the dollar earlier this year thanks to the conclusion of a new trade agreement between London and Brussels, as well as the successful vaccination against coronavirus in the UK, is near the level of early January.

"The pound has suffered due to disagreements between the UK and EU authorities over vaccines and these contradictions may delay the implementation of the plan to lift the quarantine in the UK.

The European Union this week tightened the export of COVID-19 vaccines produced in the bloc. As a result, the EU may restrict the supply of AstraZeneca vaccines produced at the company's plant in the Netherlands to the UK. On Monday, The Guardian noted that a complete ban on exports to the UK will lead to a delay in vaccination in the country for two months.