Dec 19 (Reuters) - The euro edged up on Thursday, buoyed by short covering as risk sentiment improved and gains versus the pound following a dovish Bank of England outcome.
German yields reached a one-month high after Wednesday's hawkish Fed pivot and a domestic tax relief bill being passed. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump agreed that the Russian-Ukraine war had gone on for too long.
The pound fell after BOE policymakers voted 6-3 to keep interest rates on hold, a bigger split than expected as officials disagreed over how to respond to a slowing economy and inflation pressures.
Norway's central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 4.50% while noting U.S.-China trade war risks. Sweden's central bank cut its rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.50%, signaling more caution about easing entering 2025.
The yen continued to drop after earlier dovish comments by Bank of Japan chief Kazuo Ueda. It fell the most since U.S. elections as a batch of upbeat U.S economic data and fresh debate about Fed policy helped send the Treasury 10-year yields to their highest level since May.
Gains in shares and a request by President-elect Donald Trump to eliminate the debt ceiling helped steepen the yield curve.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has the full support of his cabinet to stay on, new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said.
Treasury yields were mixed amid a sharp steepening of the yield curve. The 2s-10s curve was up about 10 basis points to +25.57p.
The S&P 500 rose 0.60%, fueled by utilities and financials.
Oil was down 0.50% and copper fell 1.89% amid higher yields. Gold rose 0.40%.
Heading toward the close: EUR/USD +0.22%, USD/JPY +1.76%, GBP/USD -0.38%, AUD/USD +0.56%, DXY +0.26%, EUR/JPY +2.00%, GBP/JPY +1.37%, AUD/JPY +2.30%.
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(Editing by Burton Frierson Reporting by Robert Fullem)
((robert.fullem@thomsonreuters.com;))
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