* Dollar little changed after Moderna news
* Vaccine hopes trump rising cases for now
* Asian economic data boosts sentiment, China's yuan
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(Recasts to dollar and updates prices)
By Alden Bentley and Tommy Wilkes
NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The dollar treaded water
early Monday after Moderna Inc became the second U.S. company in
a week to report positive results from its COVID-19 vaccine
trial.
Optimism about the vaccine lifted stocks but mostly bypassed
the forex markets, where currency trading held the index of the
U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies =USD at 92.66, just
below its late Friday level at 92.74.
Moderna MRNA.O said its experimental vaccine was 94.5%
effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a
late-stage trial. That followed a similar
vaccine-related update from Pfizer Inc PFE.N a week earlier.
The risk-on mood lifted U.S. stock indexes at the open and
nudged up the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note.
The euro was steady as investors began the week in a
relatively upbeat mood after strong economic data from Asia.
Despite fears of a resurgence of global cases of COVID-19,
investors remain hopeful a working vaccine could rescue the
global economy, helping to fuel a rally in stock markets and a
rebound in riskier currencies.
The euro hit a one-week high of $1.1869 EUR=EBS and was
last up 0.03% at $1.1836.
Commerzbank analysts said investor confidence that the euro
region was better prepared to launch more fiscal stimulus than a
divided U.S. Congress was helping.
"In particular as the positive news about vaccine developers
are providing a glimmer of hope at the end of the corona tunnel
the FX market is likely to prefer an active fiscal reaction over
inactivity," said Commerzbank strategist Ulrich Leuchtmann.
"If the end of the pandemic is foreseeable the tactic of
pushing the European economies over lockdown with the help of
fiscal policies makes sense again to FX traders."
In a sign of the positive mood, currencies sensitive to
global sentiment such as the Norwegian crown EURNOK=D3
NOK=D3 and the Australian dollar AUD=D3 notched up solid
gains.
Adding to investor optimism was data on Monday showing signs
of economic recovery in China and Japan, the world's second and
third largest economies, as well as 15 Asia-Pacific economies on
Sunday signing the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership deal. The dollar against the Chinese yuan was last off 0.2%
CNH=EBS in offshore markets at 6.5780, after the Chinesee
currency hit a one-week high of 6.5661 yuan per dollar.
Trade talks between Britain and the European Union resumed,
although initial confidence that the two sides could make
progress dissipated and the gains in the pound were short-lived.
Sterling rallied to as high as $1.3242 GBP=D3 before
settling at $1.3186, down slightly.
Ireland's foreign minister said Britain and the EU had a
week to 10 days to find a way to unlock the talks. ING analysts said even with an extension to the talks the
time for ratification was "dangerously shrinking", with
Britain's Brexit transition period concluding on Dec. 31.
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U.S. dollar vs offshore Chinese yuan https://tmsnrt.rs/3lFg7Sg
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