By Gina Lee
Investing.com – The dollar was down on Tuesday morning in Asia, with investors retreating from the safe-haven asset over fresh hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Oxford University said on Monday that early-stage human trials for its candidate ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, which it is developing with AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), showed positive results. Two other potential candidates also reported positive results on the same day, including one being developed by CanSino Biologics alongside China’s military research unit.
Meanwhile, European Union leaders are a step closer in reaching a consensus for its proposed stimulus plan at the EU Summit, even as negotiations were extended beyond a fourth day.
“The agreement in Europe on the economic recovery fund underwrites growth there and improves the global economic outlook,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) FX analyst Joe Capurso told Reuters.
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies fell 0.16% to 95.623 by 10:09 AM ET (3:09 AM GMT). The USD/JPY pair was down % to 107.16.
The AUD/USD pair gained 0.21% to 0.7028. The Reserve Bank of Australia will release minutes from its June meeting later in the day, and Governor Philip Lowe will also give a speech.
The NZD/USD pair was up 0.05% to 0.6577 and the USD/CNY pair gained 0.05% to 6.9867.
The GBP/USD pair gained 0.14% to 1.2677. The GBP held its overnight gains over the progress made at the EU Summit, with investor sentiment further boosted over fresh Brexit negotiations between the EU and the U.K. slated to begin later in the day.