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Agencies
New York
The euro gained the most in a decade last month, the British pound had its best July since 1990 and for the first time this year, every major currency in the world rose against the US dollar.
A gauge of the greenback against its biggest peers was down 4.4 per cent in July, the worst rout in a decade.
The world’s reserve currency of choice was already on the back foot when US President Donald Trump raised the idea of delaying elections this year.
He added fuel to a rout that was driven by falling US Treasury rates, real yields near record lows and disappointment over America’s response to the coronavirus compared to Europe.
Data on Thursday showed that the world’s biggest economy shrank at a record 32.9 per cent annualised pace in the second quarter, even amid unprecedented levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus from the Federal Reserve and the US government.
While that is a 9.5 per cent contraction on a non-annualised basis, significantly less dire than economic data out of Europe this week, Germany and France were quicker to introduce lockdowns.
Also, the number of US unemployment claims, which increased by about 900,000, served as a warning of the potential damage that a resurgence of the virus will inflict on the economy.
The euro advanced more than 5 per cent in July, the highest since May 2018. Bolstered by the European Union’s €750 billion rescue plan, appetite to bet on euro gains over the next month is the highest since March, according to risk-reversal options.
The euro moved against the dollar “faster than anticipated”, said Manuel Oliveri at Credit Agricole.
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02/08/2020
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