* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - The dollar edged to a two-week
high versus its rivals on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald
Trump and congressional leaders reached a deal on Monday on a
two-year extension of the debt limit, dousing fears of a
government default later this year.
The greenback rose 0.24% versus a basket of its rivals
.DXY to 97.47, its highest level since July 10. "This takes the threat of yet another debt-ceiling drama off
the table for two years, by which time many of us fervently hope
that a set of rational politicians will have taken office and
this whole pointless recurring drama will be done away with,"
said Marshall Gittler, chief strategist at ACLS Global.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 was the biggest loser after
Bloomberg News reported that the country's central bank is
refreshing its strategies for unconventional monetary policy.
The euro EUR=EBS also struggled against the dollar but
held firm at a two-year high against the low-yielding Swiss
franc on rising concerns that the Swiss National Bank may
intervene to weaken the currency.
While levels below 1.10 francs per euro is considered
intervention territory, broadly unchanged sight deposits data
from the SNB, the clearest indicator of the Swiss central bank
purchasing francs, indicate authorities are not unduly worried
about the Swiss currency's strength for now.
The dollar's gains were capped in a broadly rangebound
currency market as investors waited for the outcome of policy
meetings at the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal
Reserve in the coming days.
While the ECB is widely expected to signal a dovish policy
stance at Thursday's meeting, the Fed is expected to cut
interest rates by a quarter point next week.
The pound was the other notable loser in early London
trading with the British currency sliding towards the mid $1.24
region GBP=D3 ahead of the results of the Conservative Party
leadership contest. Boris Johnson is widely expected to win and
replace Prime Minister Theresa May.
Concerns that Britain will crash out of the European Union
without a deal have grown after Johnson said he would pull
Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 "do or die".
The pound GBP=D3 traded at $1.2459, within striking
distance of a 27-month low of $1.2382 reached last week.
"Johnson is expected to become the new prime minister, so
there is a real chance of a hard Brexit," said Takuya Kanda,
general manager of research at Gaitame.Com Research Institute in
Tokyo.
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CHF And SNB Intervention https://tmsnrt.rs/2OcUYTm
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