Forex Today: Fear takes over as Europe heads into another economic downturn

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, October 29:

 The greenback soared to weekly highs against most major rivals, on the back of risk-aversion. Coronavirus contagions in the EU have led German and French authorities to announce lockdown measures, in an attempt to curve the spread of COVID-19 and to prevent health systems from collapsing. The EUR/USD pair fell to 1.1717, to finally settle around 1.1750. Coronavirus cases also surging in the US.

The Pound also fell, amid Brexit impasse and coronavirus concerns. Brexit talks continued, although there were no news in that front. GBP/USD finished the day sub-1.30.

Commodity-linked currencies were also under pressure, with only the JPY appreciating against the US currency.

Wall Street plunged with the three major indexes falling over 3.0% each. US Treasury yields were down for a fourth consecutive day, although the decline was contained.

 Gold plummeted to a fresh October low of $1,869 a troy ounce, ending the day around 1,876. Crude oil prices were dragged lower by equities, trimming their previous gains.WTI finished the day around $37.30 a barrel.

 On Thursday, the ECB is having a monetary policy meeting, while the US will publish the first estimate of Q3 GDP.

Bank of Japan will not rely on China for central bank digital currency research