Around 9 p.m., the yen fell by 0.75% against the greenback, to 109.51 yen for one dollar, while the franc lost 0.37% to 0.9695 franc for one dollar.
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The yen and the Swiss franc, traditional safe havens, fell on Tuesday while the yuan gained strength, in a market apparently reassured by the measures taken by China in response to the crisis of the new coronavirus.
Around 8:00 p.m. GMT (9:00 p.m. in Paris), the yen fell by 0.75% against the greenback, to 109.51 yen for one dollar, while the Swiss franc lost 0.37% to 0.9695 Swiss franc for one dollar .
Against the euro, the yen dropped 0.60% to 120.94 yen for one euro and the Swiss currency yielded 0.20% to 1.0706 Swiss franc for one euro.
The Chinese currency, meanwhile, stood at 6.9984 yuan per dollar, up 33% from the previous day’s close.
The euro, for its part, lost 0.15% against the greenback, at 1.1043 dollars.
“China injected liquidity and a semblance of calm in the markets on Tuesday, allowing some of the currencies most affected” by the coronavirus crisis “to regain strength,” notes Joe Manimbo of Western Union citing the yuan or Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars.
For its part “the greenback has managed to maintain itself thanks to a solid advance against currencies considered to be even safer, the yen and the Swiss franc,” he adds.
“Despite a growing human toll, the markets hope that the crisis will remain fairly localized and will not take on an international scale,” said the expert.
Investors in particular seemed to be reassured by the measures of the Chinese Central Bank, which has injected billions of cash in the past two days.
The country has also taken several very strict decisions to stem the spread of this virus, for example continuing its drastic containment measures in certain cities.
The British pound, meanwhile, recovered slightly on Tuesday, following a sharp fall due to fears of a breakdown in trade negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Investors will follow US job indicators later in the week with the release of the ADP survey on Wednesday and official monthly figures on Friday.
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