Dollar drops as some US polls shift toward Kamala Harris

The dollar fell and US Treasuries rallied as investors walked back bets on Donald Trump winning the presidential election after weekend polls indicated Kamala Harris was gaining ground.

An index of the dollar dropped the most in more than a month, while the Mexican peso – which tumbled in the aftermath of Trump’s 2016 victory – was the top performer among 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. US stock futures advanced.

Harris received some encouraging signals from an ABC News and Ipsos poll giving her a 49 per cent-46 per cent edge nationally against Trump in the race for the White House, while The New York Times/Siena survey released Sunday showed the Democratic nominee ahead in five of seven swing states.

A survey by the Des Moines Register that pointed to a lead for Harris in Iowa – a state that Trump has won in both of his previous contests – was a likely outlier, but served to underscore the ever-shifting dynamics of the race.

Still, Harris’ advantage across all of the surveys was within the margin of error, and an NBC News poll released Sunday showed the race deadlocked 49 per cent-49 per cent.

The dollar gauge and 10-year Treasury yields both had reached their highest since July in recent weeks, after investors ramped up wagers on a second term for Trump.