By Gina Lee
Investing.com – The dollar was up on Friday morning in Asia, ending a tough week as it saw losses against the euro and its largest weekly drop against the yen in a month. U.S. President Donald Trump and Joe Biden participated in a restrained final presidential debate before the Nov. 3 presidential election earlier in the day.
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched up 0.08% to 93.043 by 1:02 PM ET (5:02 AM GMT). Although the dollar remained above Wednesday’s seven-week low, it was down 0.7% for the week and remained in the bottom half of a months-long range.
Trump was more restrained than during the first presidential debate on Sep. 29, where he constantly interrupted both Biden and moderator Chris Wallace.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes (LON:LCL) tweeted that betting markets showed a small movement in Trump’s favor in the immediate aftermath of the debate. However, some investors expected caution and no big moves ahead of the election.
“People are just closing out longs ahead of the election just in case Biden isn’t [elected] … we’re coming into that eye of the storm now where it takes a bit of a brave soul to put on new positions ahead of the election,” Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston told Reuters.
The USD/JPY pair edged down 0.11% to 104.70. The yen saw its highest weekly rise since mid-September, reversing some overnight losses after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed optimism about a consensus on the latest stimulus measures. Investors also turned to the safe-have yen over the anticipated turbulent trade ahead of the election.
The AUD/USD pair inched down 0.04% to 0.7112. Across the Tasman Sea, the NZD/USD pair inched down 0.10% to 0.6667. New Zealand released a weaker-than expected consumer price index earlier in the day, which rose 0.7% quarter-on-quarter and 1.4% year-on-year in the third quarter.
The USD/CNY pair inched up 0.02% to 6.6835. The yuan had held onto gains against the greenback as Wang Chunying, spokeswoman for China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), told a news conference that the yuan has been more stable than expected.
Wang’s comments suggested that Chinese authorities are not too worried about the yuan’s recent rise and helped the yuan’s onshore trade to soar up to about half a percent shy of the 27-month peak it saw on Wednesday.
The GBP/USD pair edged down 0.15% to 1.3062. The pound saw losses on Thursday over the Brexit uncertainty, with investors monitoring the intensified talks between the U.K. and European Union, started on Thursday as a last-ditch effort to reach a deal.
The U.K. and Europe will release Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures due later in the day, with investors gauging the economic damage as the region battles a second wave of COVID-19 cases. The U.S. will also release its PMI figures later in the day.