FOREX-Higher-risk currencies soar on Biden win, successful COVID19 vaccine

* Nokkie, Japanese yen fall by 1.6% vs US dollar
* Aussie dollar skyrockets 2.4% vs Japanese yen
* Dollar index stays relatively calm
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

(Recasts, adds latest COVID-19 news, comments, updates prices)
By Olga Cotaga
LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Trade-related currencies were
buoyed on Monday by a pick up in risk appetite after Joe Biden
clinched the U.S. presidency and Pfizer Inc PFE.N said its
experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing
COVID-19.
The Scandinavian currencies and the Japanese yen were
amongst the biggest movers, while the offshore Chinese yuan hit
its strongest in 28-months.
A Biden presidency is expected to boost international trade
relations and the prospect of a successful coronavirus vaccine
is seen as a major tailwind, with global cases continuing to
rise. Simon Harvey, currency analyst at broker Monex Europe, said
although markets were already trading with "an air of optimism",
Pfizer's findings, based on initial data from a large study, had
boosted risk appetite further. "Although premature to solidify expectations of a widely
available vaccine in the coming months, (the news) helped boost
global growth expectations which took a substantial knock only
weeks ago with second wave concerns," Harvey said.
That was benefitting higher beta currencies such as the
Norwegian and Swedish crowns, boosting oil prices and
"unravelling" dollar/yen, he added.
The dollar stabilised against a basket of currencies =USD
having touched a 10-week low of 92.12 and was last up 0.2% at
92.31.
The Swedish crown rose to a 28-month high of 8.5845 SEK=D3
versus the U.S. dollar and to a 22-month high of 10.20 against
the euro EURSEK=D3 .
Its Norwegian counterpart rose 1.6% against both the dollar
and the euro to hit two-month highs against each of 9.0025 and
10.7030 respectively. NOK=D3 EURNOK=D3 .
The Australian dollar was up 2.4% at 76.85 against the
Japanese yen, a seven-week high AUDJPY=D3 . The yen also fell
1.6% against the U.S. dollar to 105 JPY=EBS .
The offshore Chinese yuan CNH=EBS was not far behind,
hitting a peak of 6.5501 against the dollar and last up 0.3% at
6.5729.
The Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar both rose 0.8%
versus the U.S. dollar with the latter AUD=D3 hitting a
seven-week high and the former a nine-month high CAD=D3 .
"The removal of global uncertainty, a shift to dollar
funding, and virus divergence against the U.S. all favour a
weaker dollar into the end of the year," said George Saravelos,
Deutsche Bank's currency analyst.
Saravelos expects the broad trade-weighted dollar to
potentially drop by another 3% to 5% into the end of the year
with euro/dollar convincingly breaking 1.20 and dollar/yen
reaching 100.
U.S. dollar selling was being held in check, however, by
the virus worries and because incumbent President Donald Trump
has made no sign of conceding while fighting legal battles to
overturn the result. The prospect of more gridlock in Washington, with
Republicans appearing likely to have retained control of the
Senate -- although the final makeup may not be clear until
runoff votes in Georgia in January -- means that expectations
for a massive U.S. fiscal stimulus package have been lowered,
sending bond yields down in anticipation of less borrowing and
more quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve. Euro/dollar - the most traded currency pair in the world -
was up 0.1% on the day at $1.1892 EUR=EBS .
German exports rose by more than expected in September, and
foreign trade gave Europe's largest economy a boost going into
the fourth quarter as it struggles to avoid slipping into a
double dip contraction.