The dollar hovered around its highest in nearly one month in Asian Market opening trades today, with traders expecting U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen to affirm a more traditional commitment to market-set currency rates when she testifies at Capitol Hill later. President-elect Joe Biden\'s pick to head the Treasury is prepared to say the United States \"doesn\'t seek a weaker currency to gain competitive advantage\", returning to a more traditional posture after outgoing President Donald Trump often railed against dollar strength.
Biden is set to be inaugurated tomorrow. The greenback has started the year with a near 2% rally against major peers, supported by a rise U.S. Treasury yields in response to Biden\'s plan for a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. The safe-haven currency fell nearly 7% last year on expectations U.S. monetary policy would stay ultra-loose and on hopes for a post-pandemic global recovery. In currencies today, the dollar was little changed at 103.72 yen, consolidating in a narrow range after reaching a one-month high of 104.40 last week. The euro rose 0.1% to $1.2095, after dipping to 1.2054 yesterday for the first time since Dec. 2 while the pound was up 0.12% at $1.3603.
The Indian Rupee opened stronger with a gap of 13 paise at 73.15/16 against its previous session’s close of 73.28/29 and is expected to trade in a range between 73.00– 73.40 today.
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