FOREX-Dollar near 1-week lows before U.S. election results; yuan soars

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The dollar held near a one-week
low against its rivals on Thursday as investors unwound some of
their safe-haven demand for the greenback as the U.S.
Presidential election entered its final stretch.
Democrat challenger Joe Biden is predicted a U.S. election
win over President Donald Trump after pivotal victories in
Michigan and Wisconsin but his party is falling short of
expectations in Congressional elections, with the Senate looking
increasingly likely to stay in Republican hands, making it hard
to implement stimulus. But financial markets were braced for days or even weeks of
uncertainty as Trump has opened a multi-pronged attack on vote
counts in several states by pursuing lawsuits and a recount.
"The dollar will probably be caught between a haven bid on
the uncertainty of the disputed election and a lack of interest
in shorting the currency on the prospects of a potential Biden
win," said John Velis, an FX and macro strategist at BNY Mellon.
The dollar index =USD against a basket of six major
currencies stood at 93.23, down 0.2% in early London trading.
Some of the biggest gains were seen in currencies which had
borne the brunt of Trump's protectionist policies in recent
years, with the Chinese yuan briefly rising to more than a
two-year high versus the greenback.
The euro EUR=EBS bought $1.1760 on Thursday, up 0.3% from
the previous session as some investors bet on a Biden victory.
"The euro was flying around in the last couple of days, to
and fro, but in the end it does seem like the euro tends to be
stronger under a Biden scenario," said John Vail, chief global
strategist at Nikko Asset Management.
The British pound broke above $1.30 after the central bank
ramped up its bond purchase plan.
Broader currency market volatility gauges declined with a
widely-watched index falling to more than three-month lows
.DBCVIX .