FXpert

The U.S. dollar rose on Thursday, regaining its safe-haven appeal, as investors worried that the resurgence of U.S. coronavirus cases could erase the summer's employment gains.

The dollar was on the defensive against more growth-sensitive currencies on Thursday, following upbeat U.S. and European economic data, though worries about the coronavirus blunted more aggressive risk taking ahead of upcoming U.S. jobs figures.

Sterling will gain towards the end of the year if Britain and the European Union (EU) thrash out a deal over future trade relations as most analysts expect, a Reuters poll found.

The dollar was on the defensive against more growth-sensitive currencies on Thursday, following upbeat U.S. and European economic data but renewed worries about the coronavirus blunted more aggressive risk taking.

Sterling rose on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. data clipped safe-haven demand for dollars and as British manufacturing survey data pointed to a small increase in output after the historic collapse caused by the coronavirus.

The dollar retreated on Wednesday in choppy trading, as generally solid U.S. economic data and improving European numbers diminished its appeal as a safe haven, though the currency's outlook remained upbeat given renewed risks posed by the novel coronavirus.

The dollar slipped on Tuesday, alternating between gains and losses, as markets digested less bearish comments from U.S. monetary officials along with a more dire prognosis from the country's top medical expert on the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Sterling retreated against a broadly firmer dollar on Tuesday, as investors awaited confirmation of the government's spending plans to lift an economy that posted its biggest contraction in 40 years in early-2020.

Sterling rebounded on Tuesday from early losses exacerbated by worse than expected UK GDP data, although analysts said its recovery was due to some end-of-quarter rebalancing rather than any improvement in sentiment.