SINGAPORE, Nov 11 — The safe-haven yen hit its lowest since February today while riskier currencies were firm against the dollar, as traders waited to see whether US lawmakers could secure an end to the government shutdown in coming days.
The euro was steady at US$1.1558 and sterling has been creeping higher to US$1.3177.
A deal that would restore US federal funding, and end the longest shutdown on record, cleared an initial Senate hurdle late on Sunday, though it was unclear when Congress would give its final approval.
A gain of about 0.7 per cent for the Australian dollar to US$0.6536 and a drop in the yen were the biggest movers in the wake of the breakthrough. The yen briefly touched 154.49 per dollar in morning trade, its weakest since February.
Analysts said the moves could be vulnerable to reversal if the path to inking the shutdown deal dragged much beyond this week. There are still several Senate hurdles to clear.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said his chamber could pass the bill as soon as tomorrow and send it on to President Donald Trump to sign into law, if the Senate acts quickly.
“Reopening by November 15 is just about fully priced in for now, so any deviation or delays from that could be viewed as risky for this rebound in liquidity,” said Brent Donnelly, president at analytics firm Spectra Markets.
New Zealand inflation expectations, British weekly wage data and Germany’s ZEW sentiment survey are due later in the session.
The New Zealand dollar has been under pressure for months as the economy slows and had today hit a 12-year low against the Australian dollar, reflecting a divergent outlook for interest rates in the Antipodes. — Reuters
