The dollar took a battering against its major rivals while the Mexican peso plunged to a record low on Wednesday, as global financial markets were rattled by the prospect of a shock win for Republican Donald Trump in the fiercely-contested US election.
Trump scored a series of surprising wins over Democrat Hillary Clinton in battleground states including Florida and Ohio, opening a path to the White House for the political outsider that many saw as inconceivable just few weeks ago. Stunned markets went into full risk-aversion mode, sending investors scurrying out of the dollar and into perceived safe-havens such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. The euro and sterling also rallied versus the greenback.
"I would not say the market is in a panic. The possibility of a Trump win, however seemingly remote at the time, was of course something that was considered beforehand and the market is reacting in line with such a scenario," said Bart Wakabayashi, Head of Hong Kong FX Sales at State Street Global Markets.
Trump, an anti-establishment political novice, is seen as a risk to global growth as he has pledged to renegotiate trade deals, impose high import tariffs and stirred fears of a currency war with China. Clinton is seen by markets as more of a known quantity and likely to ensure political and economic stability. The dollar was down 2.6 percent at 102.350 yen after dropping more than 3 percent, in a volatile day that saw it rise to 105.480 earlier, when last-minute opinion polls put Clinton in favour.
The greenback also lost 1.6 percent lower against the Swiss franc, another safe-haven, to 0.9625 franc. The euro rallied to a two-month high and was last up 1.8 percent at $1.1225.
The Canadian dollar fell to an eight-month low of C$1.3525 per dollar. The dollar index fell to a one-month trough, shedding 1.4 percent to 96.551 Sterling was up 0.7 percent at $1.2470. The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in risk appetite, fell 1.6 percent to $0.7637. The Aussie sank 4.3 percent to 78.25 yen, after briefly sinking to its worst intraday loss since May 2010.
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