“Safe havens” push the dollar to rise in Asian trading

The dollar and the yen rose in a volatile session in Asia on Monday, benefiting from investors’ search for a safe haven amid fears that a global recession is looming on the back of interest rate hikes and weak economic data. While stocks tracked Wall Street’s rise, currency traders were concerned regarding the continued dollar selling in Friday’s trading because the dollar usually rises in uncertain times.

The Australian dollar, sensitive to risks, witnessed unstable trading, as did commodity prices in the Asian session, falling 0.1% to $0.6935. The euro settled at $1.0564, the yen also settled at 134.81 once morest the dollar, and the US dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency once morest six competing currencies, settled at 104, following it reached 105.79 earlier this month, its highest level in 20 years.

Last Friday’s poll showed that consumer confidence in the United States at a record low, which was another incentive for investors to reduce bets on raising interest rates, but the specter of a global slowdown and preference for dollar-denominated assets at such times put an end to further deterioration. The New Zealand dollar was trading at $0.6321, while the British pound remained at $1.2285.

Factory activity data in China due to be published this week is likely to provide an indication of whether the world’s second-largest economy is regaining momentum following the disruptions caused by strict COVID-19 lockdowns. The Chinese yuan rose following the leader of the largest party in Shanghai declared victory in the battle once morest Covid-19, and the yuan rose slightly to 6.6856 once morest the dollar. As for the Russian ruble, it fell in interbank trading, following Russia became on the verge of defaulting on sovereign debt for the first time in more than 100 years.