Dollar edges higher as China COVID worries spur defensive buying

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SINGAPORE — The U.S. dollar started

the week on the front foot, boosted by defensive buying as

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investors remained on edge following a spike in COVID-19 cases

in some cities in China that prompted officials to tighten

restrictions.

China’s capital Beijing reported two COVID-19 deaths for

Nov. 20, with the city’s most populous district urging residents

to stay at home on Monday, extending a request from the weekend.

The rising cases have cast doubt on the hopes of an early

easing in strict pandemic restrictions.

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“The outlook for China’s zero-Covid market will remain a key

source of volatility,” said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at

Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“If we do see another set of step up in restrictions, it

indicates to me that the Chinese officials are still wary of any

eventual reopening.”

The dollar index rose 0.131% to 107.030 on Monday,

after logging its biggest weekly gain in a month last week,

while the offshore Chinese yuan rate was at $7.1700 per

dollar.

Hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve officials have

helped the safe-haven dollar stabilize after its sharp dive

earlier in November.

Investors will be keenly interested in the minutes from the

Fed’s November meeting due to be released on Wednesday that

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could shed light on how high officials ultimately expect to

raise interest rates.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies remained under pressure, with

bitcoin down 0.3% to $16,205.00, while Ether

also shed 0.3%. FTX owes its 50 biggest creditors

nearly $3.1 billion, according to bankruptcy filings, as the

collapsed crypto exchange undertakes a strategic review of its

global assets.

The euro fell 0.21% to $1.0302, while sterling

was last traded at $1.1851, down 0.30% on the day.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.04% versus the greenback

at 140.42 per dollar. The Australian dollar fell 0.25%

versus the greenback at $0.665, while the kiwi was down

0.21% at $0.614.

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Currency bid prices at 0133 GMT

Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session

Euro/Dollar $1.0308 $1.0326 -0.17% +0.00% +1.0333 +1.0301

Dollar/Yen 140.3900 140.3950 +0.04% +0.00% +140.4850 +140.3000

Euro/Yen

Dollar/Swiss 0.9546 0.9547 +0.02% +0.00% +0.9552 +0.9531

Sterling/Dollar 1.1853 1.1885 -0.25% +0.00% +1.1895 +1.1848

Dollar/Canadian 1.3411 1.3390 +0.18% +0.00% +1.3417 +1.3385

Aussie/Dollar 0.6658 0.6673 -0.23% +0.00% +0.6681 +0.6652

NZ 0.6142 0.6152 -0.23% +0.00% +0.6169 +0.6137

Dollar/Dollar

All spots

Tokyo spots

Europe spots

Volatilities

Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by

Muralikumar Anantharaman)