Senior Democratic aide: US House Speaker Pelosi urges Fed's Powell to help local govts hit by coronavirus

A senior Democratic aide, cited by Reuters, said on Wednesday, US House Speaker Pelosi urged Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Powell to use the Fed’s authority to help state and local governments most affected by coronavirus crisis.

The aide said: “The Speaker was encouraged by the Chairman’s perspective that with interest rates at nearly zero Congress is enabled to fiscally think big as we craft a robust response.” 

This comes as the US is considering a $1.2 trillion coronavirus economic response.

US dollar reaction

The demand for US dollar returns in the European trading, lifting the greenback back to a new four-week high of 99.91 against its main competitors.

At the time of writing, the US dollar index rises 0.18% to 99.75.