Dollar gains on risk-off mood due to virus fears, trade tensions

The dollar firmed on Thursday as a surge in coronavirus cases in the United States and new trade tensions prompted investors to a risk-off sentiment.

The dollar index rose 0.1% to 97.27.

The euro fell to 1.1246 on the dollar, while the British pound slid to $1.2411.

New daily infections in the United States hit almost 36,000 in the latest report, nearing the record 36,426-hit in April. The governors of New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey have ordered the 14-day quarantine of travellers coming in from nine other states, as cases surged in the southern and western areas of the country. 

On top of that, the market sentiment soured due to news that Washington is considering revising tariff rates for European products as part of the aircraft dispute between the two parties. 

Commodity prices also fell, with the Aussie dropping to $0.6859 and the greenback rising to 1.3642 on the Canadian dollar. 

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar also rose to 107.18. 

The IMF revised its forecast for the 2020 global output to a 4.9% contraction, with U.S. output down 8.0%. 

Elsewhere, the Turkish lira steadied at $6.8509 and the Mexican peso slid to $22.808.