Dollar Exchange Rate Declines Ahead Of US Elections

JAKARTA - The exchange rate of the US dollar against a number of major currencies in the world was observed to weaken at the end of trading yesterday. The fallout from the new round of stimulus shines light on the US elections.

The dollar's exchange rate decline reached a level of one percent compared to its weekly decline statistics. Market participants continued to monitor developments regarding additional US coronavirus stimulus, with the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropping 0.19 percent to 92.7741.

In late New York trade, the euro was up to $ 1.1857 from $ 1.1817 in the previous session, and the British pound weakened to $ 1.3034 from $ 1.3077 in the previous session. The Australian dollar was up to 0.7134 US dollars from 0.7112 US dollars.

The US dollar bought 104.73 Japanese yen, lower than 104.87 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar also weakened to 0.9044 Swiss franc from 0.9072 Swiss franc, and it increased to 1.3144 Canadian dollars from 1.3142 Canadian dollars.

Merchants await further clues about the new US COVID-19 assistance package. US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said another round of COVID-19 assistance was still possible before the November 3 election, but President Donald Trump should ask reluctant Republicans if he wants a deal.

"So risk appetite has had the upper hand this week on hopes for a bold stimulus and that has kept the dollar behind it," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.