* Dollar index down 0.13%
* March shopping surge lifts Aussie
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments
to U.S. market open; new byline, changes dateline, previous
LONDON)
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - The dollar edged lower on
Wednesday, erasing some of the previous day's gains, but
safe-haven currencies remained largely well supported even as
markets began to stabilize as oil prices recovered from another
slump.
The U.S. Dollar Currency Index =USD , which measures the
greenback's strength against six other major currencies, was
0.13% lower at 100.33. The index hit a two-week high of 100.48
on Tuesday.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 sank below $16 a barrel to its
lowest since 1999 on Wednesday, before recovering slightly on
the prospect of extra pledges to cut output in addition to a
pact by major producers to limit supplies. O/R
U.S. crude oil futures turned negative on Monday for the
first time in history, as a supply glut and lack of storage
forced desperate traders to pay to get rid of oil. On Wednesday, most currencies traded in relatively narrow
ranges against a backdrop of steadying stock markets.
"It's been a pretty quiet morning overall," said Thomas
Anderson, managing director at moneycorp North America.
"The focus is really on two things: what politicians and
governments are doing dealing with the virus, and more
importantly people are talking about the lockdown and the
reopenings by state," Anderson said.
The U.S. House of Representatives will pass Congress' latest
coronavirus aid bill on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
said, paving the way for nearly $500 billion more in economic
relief amid the pandemic. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that U.S. states
are safely starting to reopen businesses, even as some public
health officials warned that relaxing restrictions too quickly
could trigger a new surge in cases of the coronavirus.
The dollar was about flat against the Japanese yen JPY= .
A rebound in oil prices after the recent sharp drops helped
ease the strain on commodity-linked currencies. The dollar was
0.41% lower against its Canadian counterpart CAD= .
The Norwegian crown remained weak on Wednesday, hitting a
fresh near four-week low against the greenback.
The euro was range-bound before an EU meeting tomorrow to
discuss financial aid in the euro zone. It was last down 0.3%
against the dollar. EUR= .
The Australian dollar was up 0.49% after a record surge in
retail sales last month, spurred by panic buying AUD=D3 .
Sterling recovered on Wednesday, as some traders bought back
the currency that had slipped to a two-week low the day before
during a flight to financial safe havens after oil prices
crashed.
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GRAPHIC-Oil-linked currencies feel the pain https://reut.rs/2KqeHdo
GRAPHIC-World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
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