By Gina Lee
Investing.com - The U.S dollar was up on Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to decrease investors’ appetite for risk.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, rose 0.35% to 98.885 by 11: 18 PM ET (4:18 AM GMT).
Ever increasing numbers of global COVID-19 cases are driving investors to seek haven in the dollar.
“After all, the dollar is a safe-haven currency,” Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney, told CNBC. “It’s reflecting caution, and an uncertain market where you’re seeing a lot of illiquidity.”
The USD/CNY pair clawed back from its losses earlier in the session to gain 0.01% to 7.0949.
The AUD/USD pair fell 0.42% to 0.6139 even as Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is due to announce further income support for workers later today as part of a third stimulus package as the coronavirus savages the economy. The NZD/USD pair gained 0.12% to 0.6028.
The USD/JPY pair lost earlier gains and was down 0.44% to 107.41 and the GBP/USD pair gained 0.75% to 1.2363.
“Risk aversion has been more important to the direction of the dollar than traditional interest rate differentials,” Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) analysts wrote in a note.
“For the dollar to surrender some of its recent gains, investors would need to shift their preferences back to a broader basket of safe-haven assets,” they added.