* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Dollar stalls as traders eye drawn-out coronavirus battle
* New Zealand dollar hits more than one-year high after RBNZ
* Rising U.S. coronavirus cases also a concern
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The dollar nursed losses on
Wednesday as optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine was
offset by worries about how the drug will be delivered and by a
surge of new infections in the United States.
The New Zealand dollar recovered from an early dip to hit
its strongest level in more than a year as traders scaled back
bets that the central bank would move to negative interest
rates.
Initial optimism about coronavirus vaccine testing pushed
the dollar up against the safe-harbour yen and the Swiss franc,
but this momentum is starting to fade because there are still
several obstacles to clear before a vaccine can be distributed.
"The dollar recovery is on hold for now because, when you
look at the details, there are still a lot of hurdles to clear
before any vaccine is rolled out," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior
foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"However, the dollar is supported by rising Treasury yields,
which should help the dollar make another push higher before
year's end."
The dollar held steady at 105.28 yen JPY=D3 , trading near
a three-week high.
Against the euro EUR=D3 , the dollar was little changed at
$1.1822.
The British pound GBP=D3 traded at $1.3258, close to a
two-month high due to growing optimism that Britain and the
European Union will agree a long-sought-after trade deal.
Sterling, however, surrendered some of its overnight gains
against the euro EURGBP= .
Sentiment for the dollar got a boost after Pfizer Inc
PFE.N and BioNTech 22UAy.DE said on Monday their
experimental coronavirus vaccine was 90% effective.
However, the reaction across financial markets has become
more tempered because there are several logistical hurdles to
making the drug available, including that it has to be shipped
at extremely cold temperatures. Several U.S. states on Tuesday imposed restrictions to curb
the spread of the coronavirus as hospitalisations soared,
highlighting the difficulty in containing the virus as winter in
the Northern Hemisphere approaches. The dollar index =USD against a basket of six major
currencies steadied at 92.741.
The onshore yuan CNY=CFXS capitalised on the dollar's
weakness and rose to 6.6001.
Other Asian currencies, such as the Korean won KRW= and
the Singapore dollar SGD= , also gained against the greenback.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 hit $0.6904, its strongest
since March 2019.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept interest rates
on hold at 0.25% and introduced a new monetary policy tool to
encourage more loans by reducing borrowing costs for banks,
which matched market expectations. RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr also said domestic economic
activity since August has been more resilient than previously
assumed, which many traders took as a sign that the chance of
negative interest rates had receded. Across the Tasman Sea, the Australian dollar AUD=D3 also
rose against its U.S. counterpart.
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Currency bid prices at 3:16PM (0616 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1822 $1.1812 +0.09% +5.45% +1.1833 +1.1812
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 105.2800 105.2650 +0.00% -3.08% +105.2850 +105.0200
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 124.47 124.36 +0.09% +2.07% +124.4800 +124.1800
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9149 0.9151 -0.01% -5.44% +0.9153 +0.9139
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 1.3258 1.3276 -0.13% -0.03% +1.3279 +1.3254
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.3029 1.3036 -0.05% +0.29% +1.3042 +1.3010
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 0.7308 0.7287 +0.29% +4.15% +0.7318 +0.7277
NZ NZD=D3 0.6891 0.6832 +0.89% +2.44% +0.6903 +0.6809
Dollar/Dollar
All spots FX=
Tokyo spots AFX=
Europe spots EFX=
Volatilities FXVOL=
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ TKYFX