FOREX-Riskier currencies gain on vaccine hopes; dollar hits one-month low

* Aussie, Kiwi dollars gain
* Euro hit 4-month high vs dollar
* Dollar hits monthly low
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Elizabeth Howcroft
July 15 - Risk sentiment was upbeat in currency markets on
Wednesday, as signs of progress towards a COVID-19 vaccine and a
Wall Street equities rebound on Tuesday pushed commodity
currencies higher and the dollar to a one-month low.
Moderna Inc's MRNA.O experimental vaccine for COVID-19
provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an
ongoing early-stage study in the United States. Global equities gained following on from a Wall Street
rebound on Tuesday, with the optimism continuing through the
Asian session, although Chinese shares sold off somewhat.
European equities were set to continue the bullish trend.
Hopes that European Union leaders will reach an agreement
about the proposed coronavirus recovery fund at the EU summit on
Friday and Saturday saw the euro rise to a four-month high of
$1.14230 around 0010 GMT EUR=EBS .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a news conference
with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday that
Germany would push for a compromise. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned during a news
conference with Merkel on Monday that the EU economic stimulus
for member states should not carry too much conditionality.
Commerzbank FX analyst Antje Praefcke said that the fact
that EU leaders have been meeting to discuss important issues
before the summit suggests that it is possible that a compromise
will be reached.
"Whatever it may look like and however it may be judged -
the market will be happy one way or the other," Praefcke said.
"The market is less interested in the details and more in
ensuring that the EU is no longer divided but presents a united
front," she added.
The euro extended gains and hit a four-month high of $1.1435
at 0744 GMT.
U.S. President Donald Trump ended Hong Kong's preferential
status as a trading partner. China responded by saying it will
impose retaliatory sanctions on the United States. The dollar index fell in the early hours of the morning,
hitting a one-month low of 96.032 at 0735 GMT =USD .
"Somehow nobody likes the dollar any longer," Commerzbank's
Praefcke said.
"When it comes to dealing with the pandemic, the U.S. really
cannot boast that it did a better job than the Europeans. And
the thing the market really does not like are crisis hotspots or
uncertainties that seem out of control," she added.
Florida, which has become an epicentre of the new outbreak,
reported 133 new COVID-19 fatalities on Tuesday, raising its
death toll to more than 4,500. The offshore Chinese yuan hit a one-week high overnight,
unaffected by the renewed Sino-U.S. tensions CNH=EBS .
The Australian and New Zealand dollars both gained around
0.3% versus the U.S. dollar, with the Aussie at 0.6999 and the
Kiwi at 0.6552 AUD=D3 NZD=D3 .
The Norwegian crown gained around 0.5% against the dollar,
at 9.324 NOK=D3 .
Markets overlooked a downgrade in Japan GDP estimates at a
policy meeting with the yen little changed, at $107.01
JPY=EBS . (Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)