The safe-haven greenback is on the rise for a second day as coronavirus fears shake markets.
Overview
The U.S. registered the highest single day of new coronavirus cases yesterday, breaking the previous record in April. Populous states Texas, Florida and California each hit record high for new cases and Arizona reported the most hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Global stocks fell yesterday and the sell-off looks to continue today.
The fundamental economic docket is a busy one this morning. Weekly jobless claims were worse than expected with 1.48M Americans filed unemployment claims last week, higher than the 1.32 expected. Continuing claims moved slightly lower but remain shockingly high. 19.5 million Americans were still receiving benefits last week.
A separate report confirmed the U.S. economy fell 5.0% in the first quarter. The final reading was unrevised from the previous reading of a 5.0% contraction. Personal consumption remained a dismal -6.8%.
The bright side of this morning’s data was the Durable Goods Orders beat. Total orders in May jumped 15.8%, besting expectation of a 10.5% gain. The impressive surge was the largest since July 2014.
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EUR
The Euro fell in early trading on the back of dollar strength and as the European Central Bank released the minutes from their last meeting earlier this month. The central bank also announced that it would set up a new facility to provide “precautionary euro repo lines to central banks outside the euro area.” The announcement allowed European equities to retrace some of their losses but also put downward pressure on the common currency.
The World Health Organization also said that most European countries are still in the first wave of cases and must prepare for a second wave during flu season this coming fall.
AUD
The Australian dollar lost earlier gains after the Australian state of Victoria recorded 33 new Covid-19 cases, which is the biggest one-day spike. Some have pointed to the jump as fresh reasons for concern for the nation that had appeared to contain the coronavirus. Neighboring state New South Wales only had four new cases. If a new wave of cases hit the country, officials may initiate a fresh lockdown and hinder the country’s recovery.
