USD soars, commodities tumble as risk-off gathers pace

Shortly after noon the US dollar is by far the strongest currency in G10 which could stem from the fact that investors are getting more concerned about the PBoC's currency policy. The USDCNH has soared today beyond a 6.8 handle for the first time in more than a year being accompanied by the PBoC setting the reference point for the USDCNY above 6.70. As a result of the greenback strength, commodities are tumbling across the board with the heaviest declines seen in copper, silver as well as oil. As of 12:15 pm BST the EURUSD is trading below 1.1590 or -0.45%, copper prices are losing almost 3%, silver prices are retreating roughly 1.9% while oil prices along with gold are down all but 1%.