Asian session review: the dollar rose slightly against major currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose against the euro and was little changed against the yen.

Investors are assessing new measures to support the US economy, proposed on Thursday by President-elect Joe Biden. The $ 1.9 trillion package of measures, among other things, includes direct payments to US residents, surcharges to unemployment benefits, and an increase in the minimum wage.

The ICE index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), rose 0.12%.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said yesterday that it is too early to talk about any changes in the monetary policy of the Central Bank, including the reduction of the asset purchase program.

"The Fed will maintain a soft monetary policy for a long time, the dollar's growth should not continue," said MUFG analyst Lee Hardman, quoted by Le Figaro newspaper.

The Chinese yuan rose slightly against the dollar. The People's Bank of China has poured liquidity into the banking system under the medium-term lending program (MLF), while maintaining the level of the rate on one-year loans. As stated in the message of the Central Bank, the regulator today provided 500 billion yuan. The cost of one-year loans remained at 2.95% per annum for the ninth consecutive month.