Asian session review: the dollar rose against the euro and pound, fell against the yen

The US dollar rose against the euro and declined against the yen. US President Donald Trump said that public restrictions imposed in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic may begin to be lifted before May 1. "Plans for opening up the country will soon be finalized," Trump said. According to him, he plans to talk with the governors of all 50 States, each will have its own plan for removing restrictions.

On Wednesday, traders expect the release of data from the US Department of Commerce on retail sales in March.

The yuan fell against the dollar after the People's Bank of China lowered the rate on loans issued under the medium-term lending program (MLF), hoping to reduce the cost of borrowing for businesses in the face of the spread of the coronavirus. As reported in the press release, the rate on one-year loans will be reduced to 2.95% from 3.15% per annum. In addition, the PBOC on Wednesday poured 100 billion yuan into the banking system as part of the MLF program.

The ICE Dollar index, which shows the value of the dollar against six major world currencies, rose 0.17% from the previous day.