USD makes slight recovery

Key Movers

The ongoing EU/UK trade deal saga seems to be slowly concluding. Rumors abound that fishing rights are the final obstacle that needs to be overcome. EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier has been updating EU officials in Brussels this morning on progress made over the past couple of weeks and has stated that we are now at the "moment of truth." UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that discussions were in a "serious situation" and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying "big differences" remained however also stating "substantial progress" had been made. Optimism that we were on the brink of a deal yesterday saw GBPUSD break above 1.36 for the first time this year. The Australian dollar opened higher yesterday, trading above the key 0.76. Thursday’s session saw the defensive USD fall to a three-year low, as the S&P500 rallied to fresh record highs due to signs of progress in US stimulus negotiations. Reports indicate that we could see the $900 billion package agreed before the weekend. AUDUSD did touch highs of 0.7640 during trade, making a fresh two-and-a-half year high in the process. Given we also saw the New Zealand dollar rise from 0.7130 to 0.7171, the AUDNZD cross traded sideways between 1.0640 and 1.0670 on the day.Daily Commentary will be taking a holiday and will return after the new year.