SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The safe-haven yen hit its lowest since February on Tuesday while riskier currencies were firm against the dollar, as traders anticipated an end to the U.S. government shutdown in coming days. The euro was steady at $1.1555 and sterling has been creeping higher to $1.3165. The U.S. Senate passed a deal that would […]
Business
Yen slips to 9-month low as traders eye end to US shutdown
Audio By Carbonatix
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The safe-haven yen hit its lowest since February on Tuesday while riskier currencies were firm against the dollar, as traders anticipated an end to the U.S. government shutdown in coming days.
The euro was steady at $1.1555 and sterling has been creeping higher to $1.3165.
The U.S. Senate passed a deal that would restore U.S. federal funding and end the longest shutdown late on Monday.
It now heads to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as Wednesday and send it on to President Donald Trump to sign into law.
A gain of about 0.7% for the Australian dollar to $0.6536 and a drop in the yen have been the biggest moves since a breakthrough Senate vote on Sunday.
Analysts said the moves could be vulnerable to reversal if the path to inking the shutdown deal dragged much beyond this week.
“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 on Tuesday hit a 12-year low against the Australian dollar, reflecting a divergent outlook for interest rates in the Antipodes.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)