News: FOREX-Euro sinks against dollar as U.S. assets look more attractive

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    • Euro lowest since May 2017 against dollar
    • Rise in coronavirus cases boosts dollar, yen
    • Central banks expected to hold rates low

    (New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments to U.S. market open, new byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)

    The euro plunged to more than two-year lows against the dollar on Thursday as concerns about a sharp rise in the number of new cases of the coronavirus outbreak in China led investors to seek out U.S. assets.

    The United States is expected to weather the economic impact of the virus better than the eurozone.

    The death toll in China's Hubei province from the coronavirus outbreak leapt by a record 242 on Thursday to 1,310, with a sharp rise in confirmed cases after the adoption of new methodology for diagnosis, health officials said.

    “Europe, and Germany in particular, have very strong trade linkages to Asian markets, and specifically with China,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York. “Coming into the year expectations were for a moderate growth rebound. While it did seem reasonable at the time, the disruptions are going to delay that narrative.”

    The euro EUR= dropped to $1.0848, the lowest since May 2017. It breached technical support at the October low of $1.0877 on Wednesday. That leaves the currency vulnerable to further losses, analysts said.

    The single currency also dropped against the safe haven Swiss franc EURCHF= to 1.0617 francs, its lowest level since August 2015.

    The Japanese yen JPY= gained against the dollar on Thursday to 109.79 yen.

    The greenback has benefited against the euro from a popular carry trade, where investors borrow in low-yielding currencies such as the euro and invest in dollars or other higher-yielding currencies.

    Expectations that central banks will hold rates low, and may provide more accommodation if the coronavirus harms the global economy, is supporting risk appetite and may reduce the likelihood of a sharp selloff in stocks.

    “The perspective is that rates will remain low, and that is cushioning some of the downside on the equity side,” said Issa.

    Stocks slipped on Thursday after setting a record closing high every day of this week.

    U.S. data on Thursday showed that U.S. underlying consumer prices picked up in January as households paid more for rents and clothing, supporting the Federal Reserve's contention that inflation would gradually rise toward its 2% target.

    	======================================================== 
    	Currency bid prices at 9:16AM (1416 GMT) 
    
     Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
    											  Previous				   Change				  
    											  Session											
     Euro/Dollar	  EUR=		$1.0847		$1.0871	 -0.22%		 -3.24%	  +1.0888	 +1.0848 
     Dollar/Yen	   JPY=		109.7900	   110.0800	-0.26%		 +0.85%	  +110.0900   +109.6300 
     Euro/Yen		 EURJPY=	 119.12		 119.69	  -0.48%		 -2.32%	  +119.7200   +119.0600 
     Dollar/Swiss	 CHF=		0.9789		 0.9781	  +0.08%		 +1.15%	  +0.9795	 +0.9761 
     Sterling/Dollar  GBP=		1.3018		 1.2960	  +0.45%		 -1.82%	  +1.3045	 +1.2945 
     Dollar/Canadian  CAD=		1.3242		 1.3249	  -0.05%		 +1.98%	  +1.3270	 +1.3240 
     Australian/Doll  AUD=		0.6735		 0.6737	  -0.03%		 -4.07%	  +0.6738	 +0.6708 
     ar																							  
    
     Euro/Swiss	   EURCHF=	 1.0620		 1.0636	  -0.15%		 -2.14%	  +1.0639	 +1.0620 
     Euro/Sterling	EURGBP=	 0.8332		 0.8388	  -0.67%		 -1.44%	  +0.8399	 +0.8327 
     NZ			   NZD=		0.6454		 0.6463	  -0.14%		 -4.19%	  +0.6466	 +0.6429 
     Dollar/Dollar																				   
    
     Dollar/Norway	NOK=		9.2465		 9.2236	  +0.25%		 +5.33%	  +9.2766	 +9.2263 
     Euro/Norway	  EURNOK=	 10.0314		10.0304	 +0.01%		 +1.97%	  +10.0949	+10.0320 
     Dollar/Sweden	SEK=		9.6588		 9.6302	  +0.06%		 +3.33%	  +9.6615	 +9.6282 
     Euro/Sweden	  EURSEK=	 10.4799		10.4731	 +0.06%		 +0.10%	  +10.5022	+10.4753 
    	 
    	 
     (([email protected]; +1 646 223 6274; Reuters 
    

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