Asian session review: the dollar strengthens on fears of a second wave of the epidemic in the US

In today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against most of the world's major currencies on growing fears of a second wave of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States.

The dollar has fallen in recent years due to a general decline in demand for safe haven currencies, following the gradual resumption of economic activity in the US and other countries after the removal of lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

However, yesterday it became known about the increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in the United States: in Texas, 2 504 new cases of coronavirus were detected in one day, which is the maximum since the beginning of the pandemic.

"Such a rapid increase in the incidence of diseases in Texas after the removal of restrictions makes you think about the correspondence of the dynamics of financial markets to the real situation in the economy," said AxiCorp analyst Stephen Innes.

The total number of detected cases of COVID-19 in the US has reached 2 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The ICE index, which tracks the dynamics of the US dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose by 0.36%.

The dollar index declined before the Federal reserve system and statements of the heads of the Fed Jerome Powell. The Fed warned on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic carries huge challenges and extreme uncertainty. Under these conditions, the Fed intends to keep the base interest rate at the current level (0-0.25%) until the end of 2022.