The first results in the US midterm elections began trickling in, with Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff winning reelection in Georgia in the first major race to be called.
The question of whether Democrats can wrest control of Congress from Donald Trump’s Republicans, though was likely still hours away from a definitive answer.
The euro firmed 0.2% to $1.1212, while the yen strengthened to 158.30 per US dollar in early trading. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, edged down 0.2% to 101.7.
The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 4.919%.
“Given the Democrats are favoured right now, our expectation is that they will take control of both the House and the Senate,” said Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
“If that pans out, the US dollar could sell off further from here, because a Democratic sweep would limit government spending over Trump’s term.”As of 7:30 p.m. ET (0030 GMT), US media outlets had projected winners in a handful of House races after polls closed in 10 states, with voting still under way across much of the country.
Kong said investors were also watching the risk of an escalation in the Middle East depending on the election outcome.
“If the Republicans do lose control of the House and the Senate, what will the President do? He previously flagged that he will restart a bombing campaign in Iran after the election, so we are watching that very closely,” she said.
“If he does ramp up the aggression in the conflict, then we could see oil prices jump sharply higher, and that will support the US dollar.”
Oil prices were little changed at $103.85 a barrel after easing about 1% on Tuesday to the lowest in nearly four weeks. The market is weighing talks to end the wars in Iran and Ukraine against worries that recent attacks in both conflicts could further disrupt supplies.
Sterling edged higher to $1.3440, with traders eyeing the Bank of England’s policy announcement on Thursday. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to raise interest rates for the first time August 2023.
China’s offshore yuan last traded at 6.6673 per dollar, stabilising after suffering its biggest one-day drop since May 15 on Tuesday, when the People’s Bank of China raised the amount of foreign currency that financial institutions must hold in reserve in a move to slow the yuan’s rally.
