The US dollar is stronger across the board, including up 0.3% against the Canadian dollar. This is the first notable move up in USD in quite a few sessions. The catalyst is a decline in equities caused by the perceived failure of the Fed to provide sufficient assurances about future additional stimulus. Tech shares are again leading the decline. At the same time, fears of further tension between US and China are being stoked by uncertainty about whether Trump will approve the TikTok transaction announced a few days ago. In Canada, political uncertainty is beginning to take centre stage with the impending throne speech, debates about budgetary constraints, and a minority government and the potential for an election during the pandemic. In the UK, the Pound Sterling underperformed most of its Group-of-10 currency peers after the BOE said that it had been briefed on how to use negative rates effectively and that it would engage with regulators on how to implement them.
