Dollar under pressure amid stimulus progress, pound boosted by Brexit hopes

The dollar sat near 2 ½-year lows against its peers on Tuesday as safe-haven demand eased amid hopes for a U.S. economic package and a Brexit deal.

The dollar neared its weakest level since mid-2018 against the pound and the euro as U.S. lawmakers prepared $1.4 trillion in spending.

The pound climbed 0.1% to $1.3332 following a 0.8% gain on Monday. It hit a 2 ½-year high of $1.3540 earlier this month.

The dollar fell 0.1% to $1.2150 on the euro, near a 2 ½-year low of $1.2177 hit on Monday.

COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in the United States and Britain boosted risk sentiment, but optimism was capped by a surge in cases and death toll.

The dollar index stood at 90.705 after dropping to 90.419 on Monday, a level unseen since April 2018. The greenback rose 0.1% to 104.125 per yen.

In offshore trade, the yuan fell 0.2% to 6.5444 and stood at 6.5549 onshore.

The Aussie slid 0.2% to 75.130 against the dollar, while the kiwi sank 0.1% to $70.72.