By Gina Lee
Investing.com – The dollar was up on Wednesday morning in Asia, with investors turning to the safe-haven asset amid continuously-rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Investor sentiment was further dampened over a warning from several U.S. Federal Reserve officials that the rising number of cases could jeopardize economic recovery, with some stimulus programs from central banks due to expire soon.
“The mood changes day by day, but the dollar looks to be supported for now as investors turn more cautious about the virus,” Yukio Ishizuki, foreign exchange strategist at Daiwa Securities, told Reuters.
“The Fed’s comments on the economy sound sombre. There’s reason to worry because it is hard to see when the virus will be brought under control.”
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies gained 0.06% to 96.895 by 12:09 AM ET (5:09 AM GMT). The USD/JPY pair was up 0.09% to 107.60.
The AUD/USD pair lost 0.08% to 0.6941. The AUD took a hit after the country’s second-largest city Melbourne re-imposed lockdown measures to curb the outbreak.
The NZD/USD pair fell 0.07% to 0.6542.
The USD/CNY pair gained 0.09% to 7.0188, with the yuan taking a hit after the People’s Bank of China set a lower-than expected daily midpoint for the yuan.
The GBP/USD pair gained 0.14% to 1.2557. The pound was boosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s re-commitment to reaching a trade deal with the European Union.
But investor skepticism remained alongside the risk that the deal will not materialize.