The U.S. Dollar weakened on Thursday as investors bet the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates to offset the impact of the spreading coronavirus.
Moreover, expectations of an interest rate cut in March increased to 54.3 percent versus 33.2 percent on Wednesday, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Expectations for a European Central Bank rate cut have also risen.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell and finished the session at 98.52.
Over in Europe, the single currency soared against the greenback on Thursday over possible interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. EURUSD finished the session at 1.09996.
Meanwhile, Sterling slipped against the U.S. Dollar as Britain confirmed a hardline stance on trade talks with the EU and disappointment grew that the new finance minister may not increase spending as much as expected. GBPUSD finished the session at 1.28841.
Regarding Safe havens, the Swiss Franc rose against the U.S. Dollar and finished the session at 0.96752 USDCHF. Similarly, the Japanese Yen edged higher against the U.S. Dollar and ended the session at 109.561.
Over in Canada, the Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart, as oil prices plunged for a fifth straight day on a rise in new coronavirus cases outside China that fuelled fears of a pandemic. USDCAD finished the session at 1.33307.
Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar rose slightly against the U.S. Dollar on Thursday and finished the session at 0.65661 AUDUSD.
Gold prices rose on Thursday, as investors locked-in profits after prices climbed more than 1 percent earlier in the session on mounting worries about how the coronavirus outbreak might hurt the global economy. The precious metal finished the session at 1644.75.
Cryptocurrencies rebounded on Thursday’s session. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum rose slightly and finished the session at 8730.00 BTCUSD, 59.62 LTCUSD, and 223.68 ETHUSD.
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