The U.S. Dollar rose to more than a three-year high on Thursday, as fears from the coronavirus’ spread in South Korea, Japan and Beijing drove funds from Asia to the greenback.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, strengthened and finished the session at 99.78.
Moreover, Coronavirus has killed more than 2,200 people in mainland China and efforts to contain it have largely pressured the world’s second-biggest economy. On Friday South Korean authorities confirmed 52 new coronavirus infections, bringing its total to 156 and raising concerns about the epidemic.
Over in Europe, the single currency edged lower against the powerful greenback on Thursday and finished the session at 1.07847 EURUSD.
Meanwhile, Sterling fell against the U.S. Dollar as the greenback strength swept away pound gains that were driven by the appointment of a new British finance minister. GBPUSD finished the session at 1.28805.
Regarding Safe havens, the Swiss Franc fell against the U.S. Dollar and finished the session at 0.98405 USDCHF. Similarly, the Japanese Yen fell against the U.S. Dollar and ended the session at 112.091.
Gold prices climbed to seven-years-high on Thursday, as an uptick in the number of coronavirus cases in South Korea fueled worries over the wider economic impact of the outbreak. The precious metal finished the session at 1619.48.
Over in Canada, the Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart, evidence of the coronavirus spreading outside of China weighed on investor sentiment, while a measure of domestic employment showed jobs rose for the seventh straight month. USDCAD finished the session at 1.32586.
Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar fell against a strong U.S. Dollar on Thursday and finished the session at 0.66782 AUDUSD.
Cryptocurrencies edged lower on Thursday’s session, as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum fell and finished the session at 9856.81 BTCUSD, 67.70 LTCUSD, and 256.87 ETHUSD.
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