Currencies: euro stronger
The euro gained in strength against leading currencies such as the dollar, yen, Swiss franc and pound sterling. The European Commission's proposed recovery fund has contributed to this. It is a significant step forward that it predominantly concerns transfers - and not loans - to countries that have been hardest hit by the corona crisis. So, for the first time, there is apparent solidarity between the eurozone countries. The pound sterling weakened due to a recurring fear of a no-deal Brexit. The negotiations about the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom are not progressing, with the UK threatening to leave the talks if there are no prospects of outlines for an agreement by next month. Also, the Bank of England was considering a negative interest rate (currently 0.1%). Other currencies that dropped during the peak of the corona crisis were able to report the start of a recovery. It's the case for, amongst others, the other dollar currencies (CAD, AUD) and the Scandinavian currencies (NOK, SEK). Moreover, the currencies of emerging countries were able to see a slight recovery due to the weaker US dollar. The exception was the Chinese currency, which weakened. Against the dollar, the renminbi moved somewhat further away from the symbolic limit of 7 and approached the levels reached during the trade conflict in September of last year.