The dollar and major currencies held steady in Asian trading on Monday, as investors awaited US midterm elections scheduled for Tuesday, October jobs data, and interest rate decisions expected from several central banks this week.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s performance against a basket of major currencies, held at 101.94, while the euro traded at $1.1159, approaching its lowest level in 17 months, weighed down by Fitch’s decision to revise its outlook for France to “negative.” The pound sterling stood at $1.3387.
Americans head to the polls on Tuesday to determine whether Democrats will be able to wrest control of Congress from Republicans led by President Donald Trump, with expectations that Democrats will win the House of Representatives, while the fate of the Senate remains undecided.
Analysts said the election results could affect government spending directions and investment in data centers and AI infrastructure, as well as upcoming negotiations on raising the US debt ceiling.
In other currency markets, the yen fell 0.15% to 157.78 against the dollar, while the Australian dollar held at $0.7033, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision on Tuesday, with expectations of a rise to 4.85%, the highest level in nearly two decades.
The New Zealand dollar also fell 0.11% to $0.5625, after declining 1.2% last week following the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin rose 0.22% to $77,975.62, and ether rose 0.27% to $2,268.42, after both had fallen to their lowest levels in weeks, following the theft of $6.3 billion in assets from the Binance platform last week.
The platform said withdrawals, which reached $3.64 billion, have begun to stabilize, that it has covered 95% of the value of the stolen assets, and that its services resumed on Sunday.
