US dollar increases amid risk-averse sentiment

The US dollar gained in late trading on Thursday as a risk-off mood lingered amid coronavirus worries, boosting demand for the safe-haven currency. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.29 per cent at 97.4380.

In late New York trading, the euro was down to $1.1215 from $1.1258 in the previous session, and the British pound was down to $1.2405 from $1.2423 in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to $0.6871 from $0.6867, Xinhua reported.

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The US dollar bought 107.20 Japanese yen, higher than 106.94 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar was up to 0.9489 Swiss franc from 0.9478 Swiss franc, and it was up to 1.3649 Canadian dollars from 1.3611 Canadian dollars.

"The day was dominated by risk-off which allowed mainly the US dollar to benefit," Thu Lan Nguyen, analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Thursday.

The assessment of the current situation was still sobering, amid rising case numbers and a possible stimulus fatigue, Nguyen added.