Dollar Remains A Favorite For Investors After Oil Plummets – 21 April, 2020

The safe haven dollar and yen held onto gains while the Australian dollar trickled higher on retail sales, though exercising caution is encouraged by experts. At just under a two week high against a basket of major currencies, the dollar was steady as its peers slipped when oil prices hit record lows this week. The yen last stood at 107.83 per dollar, The Australian dollar last traded 0.5% higher at $0.6354 after a jump in retail sales expected to have come from panic buying as the coronavirus spread. The dollar was about 0.6% higher for the week against a basket of major currencies, while the pound was near a two week low and the euro was little changed at $1.0856. U.S. crude prices fell into the negative territory before recovering at $11 per barrel, 80% below January’s high.