Asian equities were set to slump on Thursday after the head of the Federal Reserve warned of a"significantly worse" U.S. recession than any downturn since World War Two because of coronavirus pandemic fallout, sentiments that drove bonds higher on a safety bid.
"We're picking up from what was a negative session in offshore markets - New York in particular," said Ray Attrill, head of foreign exchange strategy for National Australia Bank in Sydney. The U.S. Dollar Currency Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against six major currencies, was up 0.23per cent on the day at 100.26. The index fell as low as 99.57 earlier in the session.
But a decision by an independent board overseeing billions in U.S. federal retirement dollars that it would indefinitely delay plans to invest in some Chinese companies also helped to fuel Wednesday's decline. The slide followed an earlier rally on optimism that slumping fuel demand would recover, while producers have slashed production to cut the mounting supply glut during the pandemic.
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