Risk currencies bounce from Friday slump, dollar firms

The Aussie and other risk currencies rose against the dollar on Monday as a sell-off in global bonds last week due to fears about tightened monetary policy appeared to have eased.

The pound drew support from bets of a speedy vaccine-led pandemic recovery, while the safe-haven yen hit a six-month low against the dollar.

The Aussie rose 0.6% to $0.7754 in Asian trade on Monday after a 1.2% decline on Friday. The kiwi gained 0.6% to $0.7270, bouncing from Friday’s 1.9% drop.

The pound climbed 0.4% to $1.3972 as investors hoped a speedy vaccination programme would boost the British economy from a deep recession.

The euro was up 0.2% to $1.20910 after falling 0.9% at the end of last week. Against the yen, the dollar reached a six-month high of 106.70 before erasing gains.

The dollar index was little changed in Asia after hitting its biggest spike since June on Friday.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin grew 2% to $46,155.72 but was still far from a record high of $58,354.14 hit on Feb. 21.