Broader Rise in Corporate Demand, and the United States

Caution over the rapid rises in United States coronavirus cases cast doubt concerning the reopening of the economy. It now keeps the demand for the safe-haven currency intact. Thus, on Friday, the dollar held firm.

Having pared a large part of this week’s losses, the dollar index stood at 97.360.

The dollar traded at 107.09 against the yen. Thus, it gained 0.5% in the overnight session. So far this week, it has held gains of 0.2%.

Losing steam after hitting a one-week peak of $1.1348 on Tuesday, the euro eased to $1.1223. Nevertheless, the currency maintained weekly gains of around 0.4%.

The sterling slipped to $1.2422. It is now off this week’s high of $1.2541, which it touched on Wednesday.

The broader rise in corporate demand towards the end of the quarter supported the greenback.

That fact helped the United States dollar to stay firm despite the stubbornly upbeat risk appetite. This appetite is most relevant in global equity markets. It is staying strong even with coronavirus infections surging.

The United States Dollar

Tatsuya Chiba is the manager of the forex at Mitsubishi Trust Bank. He said that stock prices remain supported. Nevertheless, he doubts they can retain the current high valuations when more earning results come in the next month. Risk currencies could slip again versus the yen at this point.

Nike reported a surprise loss on Thursday. Nevertheless, its online sales post a record rise. That demonstrated a hard hit from the pandemic towards businesses.

New global daily cases around the country climbed to record highs. Thus, the United States health crisis continued. The Governor of Texas temporarily halted the reopening of state. This is because hospitalizations and infections surged.

Kyosuke Suzuki is the director of the forex at Societe Generale. He said that situation in restaurants is complicated.

This is the situation in the United States. Let us see what happens.