Russia rained missiles upon Ukraine's cities on Monday in retaliation for blast that damaged the only bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula, with the escalation putting markets in a risk-averse mood. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar made a 2-1/2 year low of $0.6275 on Monday and hovered at $0.6296 early on Tuesday. Analysts at the National Australia Bank said the Aussie was the market's "whipping boy" in a sell off and that further lows were possible in the near term as sentiment is fragile.
The New Zealand dollar also made a 2-1/2 year low at $0.5545 on Monday and is close to breaking its pandemic trough, with weak data from China further souring the mood. "Our expectation for the world economy to enter recession next year is consistent with further gains in the dollar," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Carol Kong.
U.S. dollar index was up 0.053% at 113.12, not far off the 20-year high of 114.78 it touched late last month.
Britain's markets remain on edge and not exactly soothed by the Bank of England stepping up bond buying and finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng promising to bring forward some budget announcements.
Gilts sold sharply overnight and sterling was wobbly, sliding to a 10-day low of $1.1027 on Monday. The pound was up 0.28% at $1.1090 on Tuesday.
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Currency bid prices at 0029 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar $0.9719 $0.9703 +0.15% -14.52% +0.9719 +0.9700
Dollar/Yen 145.5700 145.7300 +0.02% +26.73% +145.7350 +145.7600
Euro/Yen 141.47 141.39 +0.06% +8.56% +141.5200 +141.3600
Dollar/Swiss 0.9989 0.9994 +0.10% +9.66% +1.0002 +0.9994
Sterling/Dollar 1.1090 1.1060 +0.28% -17.99% +1.1091 +1.1056
Dollar/Canadian 1.3782 1.3780 +0.02% +9.01% +1.3795 +1.3771
Aussie/Dollar 0.6297 0.6299 -0.02% -13.37% +0.6300 +0.6284
NZ 0.5574 0.5566 +0.15% -18.56% +0.5574 +0.5559
Dollar/Dollar
All spots
Tokyo spots
Europe spots
Volatilities
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Sydney and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
By Ankur Banerjee