Asian session review: The US dollar was trading near multi-year lows

During today's Asian trading, the dollar was trading near its lowest level in nearly three years after Democrats gained control of the U.S. Senate, paving the way for more fiscal stimulus under President-elect Joe Biden.

Analysts generally assume that the Democratic-controlled Senate will be a net positive for global economic growth and thus for most risky assets, but a negative for bonds and the dollar, as the U.S. budget and trade deficit could widen further.

The dollar index rose 0.04%, but still lay close to its overnight low of 89.206, a level not seen since March 2018.

“The dollar will remain weaker against commodity currencies like the Aussie and emerging market currencies,” which benefit when risk sentiment is positive. At the same time, higher Treasury yields should benefit the dollar against the euro and the yen, because the dollar has underpriced the potential for U.S economic recovery under Biden.” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.

The yuan was virtually unchanged against the dollar after Chinese authorities signaled a desire for a slower pace of gains. The remarks by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Wednesday follows an advance of around 10% on the greenback since last May as China’s economic rebound has led the world’s pandemic recovery.