{"id":103883,"date":"2021-01-04T14:50:22","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T14:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=103883"},"modified":"2021-01-04T14:50:22","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T14:50:22","slug":"dollar-extends-2020-losing-streak-amid-upbeat-sentiment-yuan-shines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/dollar-extends-2020-losing-streak-amid-upbeat-sentiment-yuan-shines\/","title":{"rendered":"Dollar extends 2020 losing streak amid upbeat sentiment; yuan shines"},"content":{"rendered":"
LONDON (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar fell to mid-2018 lows on Monday as bullish sentiment across global markets prompted investors to buy riskier currencies such as the Chinese yuan and the euro, despite a resurgent pandemic.<\/p> With U.S. interest rates pinned at record lows, massive U.S. deficits and a belief that rebounding world trade will drive non-dollar currencies higher, the dollar weakened on the first day of trading in 2021 after falling nearly 7% last year.<\/p>\n The Chinese currency was the biggest beneficiary of the weak dollar trade. The yuan rocketed to a two-and-a-half-year high.[CNY\/]<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. dollar slipped further through the threshold of the new year as global risk sentiment stayed buoyant\u201d, said Alvin Tan, an FX strategist at RBC Capital Markets.<\/p>\n The dollar index touched a low of 89.415, a level last seen in mid-2018, and was down 0.3% at 89.529.<\/p>\n The Chinese yuan rose to 6.44 yuan per dollar after Beijing cut the weighting of the U.S. dollar in a key currency index basket. That could push the yuan\u2019s value higher against its peers this year, analysts said, while Chinese factory activity continued to accelerate in December.<\/p>\n The euro, which had dipped on New Year\u2019s Eve profit-taking, rose 0.6% to $1.2294, just short of 2018 highs with positive economic indicators backing the single currency.<\/p>\n IHS Markit economist Phil Smith said the latest data showed German manufacturing continued to power on at the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the rollout of the COVID vaccines, it\u2019s hoped that the pandemic will become less and less of a hindrance to demand and that investment will continue to recover in the year ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Also, a closely watched gauge of growth in British manufacturing activity rose to its highest level in three years as factories rushed to complete work before the end of the post-Brexit transition period on Dec. 31.<\/p>\n Sterling abandoned most of its early gains against the dollar, retreating below $1.37 but close to levels last seen in early 2018.<\/p>\n The safe-haven yen rose 0.4% to 102.87 per dollar, after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said his government was mulling a state of emergency in Tokyo as coronavirus cases rise.<\/p>\n Bitcoin had a rough ride, falling as low as $27,734 at one point, after making dramatic gains over the new year\u2019s break. It was last down 6.4% at $30.980.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s most popular cryptocurrency surged over $30,000 for the first time on Saturday, touched a record high of $34,800 a day later, as investors continued to bet the digital currency was on its way to becoming a mainstream asset.<\/p>\n For graphic of china yuan 2 year:<\/p>\n