Dollar And Yen Rise as Risk Appetite Declines Ahead of Fed Meeting

The safe-haven yen and the US dollar started the week on the rise against more risky currencies such as the Australian dollar, as the rise in Covid-19 cases and the decline of stocks in Asia led to a state of caution ahead of the Federal Reserve (US Central Bank) meeting this week.

The yen rose about 0.5% to 81.08 against the Australian dollar on Monday, while the US currency gained 0.2% to $0.7351 against its Australian counterpart, approaching an almost eight-week high reached last week at $0.72895.

Against the dollar, the Japanese currency added 0.2% to 110.32 yen, thanks to lower US Treasury yields.

The euro rose 0.1% to $1.17795, settling after falling last week to its lowest level since early April at $1.1752.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against six major currencies, fell slightly to 92.833 but remains close to the peak of three and a half months recorded last week at 93.194.

Bitcoin extended gains from near $29,000 last week to hit the $40,000 threshold on Monday for the first time since mid-June. And recorded in the latest trading, an increase of 8.5% to 38,455 dollars.