The dollar weakened while the yen hit a more than two-week high today. Following the CEO of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) said that the COVID-19 vaccine is unlikely to be as efficient for the Omicron variant as it was for other types.
The U.S. dollar fell 0.3% to 96.3315.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen rose 0.4% against the dollar to 112.95 yen.
The dollar’s decline also came after U.S. government bond yields fell 6 basis points to a two-week low.
Markets believe the protracted fight against the virus will temper expectations of how quickly the Fed will raise interest rates in 2022.
The Swiss Franc rose to a two-week high against the US dollar.
The Australian dollar fell 0.65% to a 12-month low of $0.7093.
The New Zealand dollar fell 0.6% to $0.6783.
The euro appears exhausted, falling to a near 17-month low of $1.11864 last week as ECB policymakers continue to take an unwelcome stance in the face of strong inflation.
Pre-Omicron’s arrival, the main driver of currency movement was the expectation that the world’s central banks would cease their pandemic economic stimulus measures and raise interest rates. Since these banks are trying to fight rising inflation without hampering growth.