FOREX-U.S. dollar slides to two-week low

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

* Euro extends gains vs dollar

* Commodity currencies rise vs dollar

* Sterling rises after Britain unveils stimulus package (Adds new comment, updates prices)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - The dollar dropped to two-week lows on Wednesday, showing reduced safe-haven appeal for now, as U.S. tech stocks rallied and commodity prices firmed, even as sentiment remained cautious amid a resurgence of new coronavirus cases globally, particularly in the United States.

The euro, meanwhile, rose to three-week highs against the dollar, while commodity currencies such as the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian dollars gained.

The NASDAQ index .IXIC gained 0.8% on the day, reversing Tuesday's loss, feeding the currency market's risk appetite.

The dollar is typically seen as a safe haven for investors to park their cash each time a resurgence of the pandemic seems to threaten a global economic recovery.

"Investors are growing more confident that this stock market rally is not going to end any time soon," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst, at OANDA in New York. "And that's pretty much based on expectations that you're going to continue to see a strong global stimulus response over the coming weeks and months."

That said, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 2,982,900 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 50,304 cases from its previous count. It said the number of deaths had risen by 932 to 131,065. a basket of its rivals, the dollar =USD dropped 0.5% to 96.448 in early afternoon trading.

A decline in the dollar earlier this week set off the so-called "Death Cross," a bearish technical formation that occurs when the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day moving average. occurrences of the Death Cross have been followed by dollar weakness eight out of nine times since 1980 when the 200-day moving average has been declining, as it is now, analysts at BofA Securities said.

The euro EUR=EBS rose 0.6% versus the dollar to $1.1338.

Commodity currencies, which tend to thrive in times of increased risk appetite, also gained against the dollar.

The Australian dollar rose 0.5% against the greenback to US$0.6977 AUD=D3 . The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 grew 0.4% to US$0.6572, with the Canadian dollar CAD=D3 rising 0.7% to C$1.3514 per U.S. dollar.

Against the safe-haven yen, the dollar was down on the day at 107.25 yen JPY=EBS . The greenback was also 0.5% lower versus the Swiss franc at 0.9381 franc CHF=EBS .

Sterling GBP=D3 shrugged off earlier losses and rose 0.6% to $1.2588, after British finance minister Rishi Sunak promised 30 billion pounds ($37.7 billion) to head off an unemployment crisis by paying companies to bring back furloughed workers and cutting taxes for hospitality firms and homebuyers. the onshore yuan CNY=CFXS was stable at 7.0129, halting a two-day rally, after the Chinese central bank's daily midpoint for the currency was set at a weaker than expected level.

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Currency bid prices at 2:10PM (1810 GMT) Description

RIC

Last

U.S. Close Pct Change

YTD Pct

High Bid

Low Bid

Previous

Change

Session

Euro/Dollar

EUR=

$1.1332

$1.1270

+0.55%

+1.09%

+1.1351

+1.1264 Dollar/Yen

JPY=

107.2200

107.5100

-0.27%

-1.51%

+107.7000 +107.2400 Euro/Yen

EURJPY=

121.53

121.20

+0.27%

-0.34%

+121.8800 +121.1500 Dollar/Swiss

CHF=

0.9380

0.9421

-0.44%

-3.08%

+0.9432

+0.9371 Sterling/Dollar GBP=

1.2615

1.2540

+0.60%

-4.86%

+1.2617

+1.2510 Dollar/Canadian CAD=

1.3506

1.3602

-0.71%

+4.00%

+1.3623

+1.3504 Australian/Doll AUD=

0.6978

0.6946

+0.46%

-0.61%

+0.6980

+0.6928 ar

Euro/Swiss

EURCHF=

1.0634

1.0623

+0.10%

-2.03%

+1.0640

+1.0616 Euro/Sterling

EURGBP=

0.8982

0.8987

-0.06%

+6.25%

+0.9010

+0.8976 NZ

NZD=

0.6575

0.6546

+0.44%

-2.39%

+0.6576

+0.6531 Dollar/Dollar

Dollar/Norway

NOK=

9.3986

9.4714

-0.77%

+7.07%

+9.5144

+9.3889 Euro/Norway

EURNOK=

10.6534

10.7055

-0.49%

+8.29%

+10.7310

+10.6510 Dollar/Sweden

SEK=

9.1765

9.2630

-0.37%

-1.83%

+9.2737

+9.1694 Euro/Sweden

EURSEK=

10.4030

10.4416

-0.37%

-0.63%

+10.4470

+10.3998

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ANALYSIS-'Death Cross' strikes U.S. dollar as COVID-19 cases grow

Graphic: World FX rates in 2020

https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>