Yuan, Aussie dollar suffer from coronavirus concerns

TOKYO- The yuan sunk down and Australian dollar recorded a six consecutive weeks of decline on Wednesday as investors grew wary that the new strain of virus in China would lead to a slower economy.

The coronavirus has already reached Beijing and Shanghai as the number of patients diagnosed with such continues to bloat. The contagion has reached as far as the United States.

The yuan retreated on Tuesday with 0.55% loss. The decline was considered the worst in five months, as it was quoted 6.9063 per dollar CNY=CFXS from its previous trading session. In line, the Australian dollar edged down to as low as $0.682 with previous quotation of $0.6837.

Pressing concern about the virus has boosted yen to 109.98 from its underperformance of 110.23 on Tuesday.

Currencies’ inactivity could all be attributed from investors’ sentiment as markets recalled the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in China. SARS was responsible for the death of over 800 people from around the world and had dragged the Chinese tourism sector.