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

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose slightly due to its status as a safe currency, while global markets were preparing for probably the worst economic downturn in decades amid global restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The ICE index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (the euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose 0.32% in trading.

However, the dollar remained below the highs reached against most currencies the day before.

The Fed on Tuesday expanded the ability of foreign Central banks to access dollars during the coronavirus-triggered crisis, allowing them to exchange their existing us Treasury securities for "overnight" loans in dollars.

Meanwhile, data on business activity in Asia brought disappointment to markets. Manufacturing activity in Japan and South Korea declined by the most in about a decade.

Economic data to be released later on Wednesday, including from the Euro zone and the US, is not expected to add to investor optimism, while US private sector employment data is likely to point to a decline in the number of jobs.