Dollar unmoved as Biden drops out of Presidential race
Written by
Daily Currency Update
Joe Biden has decided to drop out of the race for President of the United States following a negative reaction to last month's TV debate against Republican rival Donald Trump. His performance led several Democrat lawmakers to suggest he consider stepping aside. These calls increased following a series of gaffes, including where he referred to Ukraine's President Zelensky as "President Putin."After isolating due to Covid-19 over the weekend, Biden concluded it was best to hand over the campaign to Vice President Kamala Harris for the November 5th election. While Harris has not yet been officially confirmed as the Democrat Party's nominee, she has received endorsements from Biden, former President Bill Clinton, and numerous leading party donors.
Despite the significant news, there has been little market reaction this morning. The safe-haven dollar is trading close to its Friday closing levels, suggesting that Friday's dollar gains were more likely due to the global IT outage than to speculation about Biden. The start of the week is quiet, with little data expected today. After breaking 1.30 for the first time in a year last Wednesday, GBP/USD has receded to around 1.2930. Similarly, GBP/EUR has slipped from a two-year high above 1.19 seen last week and is now at 1.1875.
Key Movers
Away from US politics there is plenty to happening later this week to move forex markets. Wednesday sees the monthly PMI readings from the Eurozone, UK and US. Thursday sees the first estimate of Q2 economic growth from the US and we finish the week with the closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditure inflation data from the States. EUR/USD is currently trading around 1.0890.Expected Ranges
- GBP/USD: 1.2875 - 1.3000 ▼
- GBP/EUR: 1.1820 - 1.1930 ▼
- GBP/AUD: 1.9300 - 1.9460 ▲
- EUR/USD: 1.0830 - 1.0945 ▼