TOKYO- The US dollar jumped and risksensitive currencies weakened on Wednesday as early results in the US presidential election showed a very tight race.
President Donald Trump, who has so far trailed in polls, has maintained a slim lead in key battleground state of Florida, with the Chinese yuan and Mexican peso hit hardest by the specter of four more years of his aggressive trade policy.
“I think the odds of a clean sweep are diminishing, almost by the minute. That reduces the possibility, or the likelihood at least of a large stimulus program being agreed to in the first days of a Biden administration,” said Matt Sherwood, head of investment strategy at Perpetual in Sydney.
The Mexican peso fell almost 4 percent at one point and last traded at 20.905 per dollar, down almost 3 percent while the offshore Chinese yuan fell 0.8 percent to 6.7362 to the dollar, hitting one-month low at one point.
Among major currencies, the euro fell 1 percent to a low not seen since late July and last stood at $1.1624, down 0.82 percent on day.
The Australian dollar lost 0.6 percent to $0.7128 while the British pound dropped 0.6 percent to $1.2983. The Canadian dollar fell 0.65 percent to C$1.3218 per US unit. All of them sank more thanone percent at one point.
