Band John McCrank

NEW YORK, December 29 (Reuters) – The dollar edged down in thin holiday trading on Wednesday, while the safe haven yen touched a one-month low as investors looked past an increase in Omicron cases.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six global peers, lost 0.282% to 95.859, after being slightly positive during the overnight session.

With many traders taking their time off before the end of the year, analysts said it was difficult to read too much of the moves.

“At times like these, we trade in a very technical way as short-term jobbers try to make final year-end gains,” said Brad Bechtel, global head of foreign exchange at Jefferies, in a note. to customers.

Currency flows were “lighter than usual for a month end, supporting the idea that most of these flows occurred last week or even earlier,” he added.

Investor sentiment has been supported in recent days by signs of the Omicron variant, while causing cases to jump to record highs in many countries not leading to further widespread lockdowns.

U.S. health officials on Monday shortened the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days from a previous recommendation of 10.

Risk-sensitive currencies such as the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars were higher, while equities were mixed.

“The Omicron variant continues to rage and fails to register in this market, even as global cases have passed one million for the second day in a row,” Saxo Bank analysts said.

The australian AUD = was up 0.44% to $ 0.7257 as the Kiwi NZD = was up 0.37% to $ 0.68305, and the loonie CAD = rose 0.04% to C $ 1.2810.

The euro EUR = EBS gained 0.4% to $ 1.13555, while the British pound GBP = D3 rose 0.4% to $ 1.34815.

Japanese yen JPY = EBS hit 115.04 per dollar, its lowest since late November. As the yen was beaten by the strength of investor risk appetite, analysts said quarter-end investor flows were also having an impact on the currency.

Elsewhere, the Turkish lira fell more than 5% TRY = D3 at around 12.45 per dollar, which compounded the huge gains made the week before, as concerns persisted over soaring inflation and unorthodox monetary policy.

In crypto-currencies, bitcoins BTC = BTSP you were the lastp 0.76% to $ 47, 905, while ether, ETH = BTSP the second largest cryptocurrency in the world, was flat at $ 3.793.

Global exchange rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

(Reporting by John McCrank in New York; additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes and Stefano Rebaudo in London; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum)

(([email protected] Twitter @jmccrank; 1 646 223-6643; Reuters messaging: [email protected]))

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