SINGAPORE, Nov 28 (Reuters) – The dollar gained broadly on Monday as protests against COVID restrictions in China stoked uncertainty and dented sentiment, sending the yuan sliding and pushing nervous investors toward the safe-haven greenback.
The COVID protests have flared across China and spread to several cities in the wake of a deadly fire in Urumqi in the country’s far west, with hundreds of demonstrators and police clashing in Shanghai on Sunday night.
Against the offshore yuan , the dollar rose 0.76% in early Asia trade to 7.2456.
The Aussie , which is often used as a liquid proxy for the yuan, fell 0.61% to $0.6714, while the kiwi slumped 0.5% to $0.6216.
“That’s a new layer of concern in China that needs to be watched closely,” said Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank (NAB), of the protests.
“Certainly at the start of the week, it will set the tone. And I suppose what…
