Asian session review: US dollar rose amid adoption of new stimulus in the US

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against the euro and the yen on news of the adoption of a new fiscal stimulus in the US.

The US Senate, following the House of representatives, supported a package of measures to stimulate the economy during the pandemic in the amount of $900 billion.

The ICE index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose 0.21%.

Investors also continue to monitor the development of the situation due to the identification of a new strain of coronavirus in the UK.

"Initially, the event was considered significant only for the United Kingdom, but we fear that it may turn out to be a new global threat, since it is unlikely that the new strain will not spread outside the country (cases have already been reported in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands)," said John Hardy, chief currency strategist at Saxo Bank.

According to Hardy, the pound " falls in part due to the isolation of the UK after the discovery of a new strain of COVID-19 and the ban on travel there, but also due to the lack of progress on Brexit."

Investors are also waiting for the publication of final data on the change in US GDP in the 3rd quarter.

The Australian dollar fell against the US dollar, despite the data on retail sales in Australia. Retail sales in the country jumped 7% in November from the previous month after rising 1.4% in October. Analysts had expected a decline of 0.6%.