By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
The safe-haven dollar edged higher in choppy trading on Friday, moving within narrow ranges, as investors grew cautious about a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases that has fueled doubts on expectations of a V-shaped recovery for the world's largest economy.
Currencies that thrive with higher risk appetite, such as sterling and those linked to commodities like the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, struggled against the greenback.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday reported 2,414,870 U.S. cases of coronavirus, an increase of 40,588 from its previous count, and said deaths had risen by 2,516 to 124,325.
Florida and Texas are leading the surge in new U.S. cases. Both states on Friday ordered bars to once again close down and imposed tighter restrictions on restaurants in a setback to efforts to open up their economies during the pandemic.
"At the end of the day, it's very clear that we are in a deep economic hole. COVID-19 won't be easy to break away from," said Juan Perez, currency trader at Tempus Inc in Washington, referring to the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
In afternoon trading, the dollar was slightly higher against a basket of currencies 97.426 <=USD>.
The dollar reacted little to data showing U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 8.2% last month, the largest increase since the government started tracking the series in 1959.
That said, personal income fell 4.2% last month.
"On balance, today's mixed numbers validate the view that the economy has weathered the worst of the coronavirus but underscore what's expected to be a choppy road to recovery," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.
The euro, meanwhile, edged higher against the dollar in see-saw trading to $1.1225
On the week, the euro posted weekly gains of 0.4% against the dollar.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch's trading platforms and broader positioning surveys indicate currency markets are long euro/dollar, though positioning is not stretched.
The dollar was little changed against the yen at 107.17 yen
In other currencies, the commodity-tied units fell as risk appetite weakened, with the Australian dollar down 0.3% against the U.S. dollar at US$0.6864
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Currency bid prices at 3:49PM (1949 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1227 $1.1217 +0.09% +0.15% +1.1239 +1.1196
Dollar/Yen JPY= 107.1700 107.1900 -0.02% -1.55% +107.3500 +106.8100
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 120.33 120.23 +0.08% -1.33% +120.3700 +119.8100
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9475 0.9483 -0.08% -2.10% +0.9499 +0.9468
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2343 1.2414 -0.57% -6.91% +1.2437 +1.2315
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3658 1.3636 +0.16% +5.17% +1.3715 +1.3627
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6862 0.6885 -0.33% -2.26% +0.6895 +0.6841
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0640 1.0639 +0.01% -1.95% +1.0645 +1.0629
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9096 0.9030 +0.73% +7.59% +0.9100 +0.9024
NZ NZD= 0.6420 0.6428 -0.12% -4.69% +0.6450 +0.6403
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.7130 9.6582 +0.57% +10.65% +9.7539 +9.6443
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.9070 10.8420 +0.60% +10.87% +10.9265 +10.8260
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.3221 9.3147 +0.18% -0.27% +9.3770 +9.3085
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.4701 10.4515 +0.18% +0.01% +10.5025 +10.4490
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Will Dunham)