- U.S. virus cases surge; risk appetite falls
- U.S. spending, income data mixed, shows economy weathering storm
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Recasts, adds new comment, FX table, updates prices, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
The safe-haven dollar rose on Friday, as investors grew cautious about a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases that has cast doubts on expectations about a V-shaped recovery for the world's largest economy.
Currencies that thrive with higher risk appetite such as the euro, sterling, as well as commodity-linked currencies like the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian dollars struggled against the greenback.
Cases rose across the United States by at least 39,818 on Thursday, the largest one-day increase of the pandemic, with Texas becoming the new hot spot for the novel coronavirus. More than 36,000 new U.S. cases were recorded on Wednesday, a few hundred shy of the record 36,426 on April 24.
"There's an inverse correlation between the risk sentiment and the dollar," said Erik Bregar, head of FX strategy, at Exchange Bank of Canada. "Whenever we get headlines that hurt risk sentiment, that helps the dollar."
In midmorning trading, the dollar rose 0.2% against a basket of currencies to 97.571 =USD . The dollar showed little reaction after the data showed U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 8.2% last month. That was the largest increase since the government started tracking the series in 1959.
That said, personal income fell 4.2% last month. "On balance, today’s mixed numbers validate the view that the economy has weathered the worst of the coronavirus but underscore what’s expected to be a choppy road to recovery," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
The euro, meanwhile, reversed gains against the dollar to trade 0.1% lower at $1.1202 EUR=EBS . Traders said there were $2 billion in option expiries in the currency pair that went off at earlier in the session at the $1.12 strike.
That said, the euro was on track to end the week on a positive note.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch's trading platforms and broader positioning surveys indicate currency markets are long euro/dollar, though positioning is not stretched.
In other currencies, the commodity-tied units fell, with the Australian dollar down 0.6% at US$0.6885 AUD=D3 . The U.S. dollar gained 0.6% at C$1.3712 CAD=D3 .
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 10:45AM (1445 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1202 $1.1217 -0.13% -0.07% +1.1239 +1.1196 Dollar/Yen JPY= 107.1600 107.1900 -0.03% -1.56% +107.2400 +106.8100 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 120.05 120.23 -0.15% -1.56% +120.3300 +119.8100 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9490 0.9483 +0.07% -1.94% +0.9496 +0.9470 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2329 1.2414 -0.68% -7.03% +1.2437 +1.2321 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3704 1.3636 +0.50% +5.53% +1.3714 +1.3627 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6848 0.6885 -0.54% -2.48% +0.6895 +0.6842 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0634 1.0639 -0.05% -2.01% +1.0645 +1.0629 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9086 0.9030 +0.62% +7.48% +0.9089 +0.9024 NZ NZD= 0.6408 0.6428 -0.31% -4.88% +0.6450 +0.6407 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 9.7335 9.6582 +0.78% +10.88% +9.7539 +9.6443 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.9030 10.8420 +0.56% +10.85% +10.9225 +10.8260 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.3655 9.3147 +0.41% +0.19% +9.3770 +9.3085 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.4944 10.4515 +0.41% +0.24% +10.5015 +10.4490 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ G10 FX monthly https://tmsnrt.rs/384McNp^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
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