Global Economic Recovery Hopes Dwindle, Dollar Benefits – 14 May, 2020

Rising U.S.-Sino tensions and insecurity about the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 infections had investors looking to the dollar. This week, the dollar is up roughly 0.5% against a basket of currencies. The yen was steady at 107.40 per dollar as a Japanese state emergency was lifted this week. The five-week streak of gains for the Australian dollar came to a halt with its first weekly loss since April when it dipped 1%  and was last steady at $0.6464. The New Zealand dollar eased up from a three-week low of $0.5958, rising 60 cents to $0.6008. The market is currently keeping a close eye on tensions between the U.S. and China which have been slowly resurfacing as President Trump becomes more vocal about Chinas lack of ability to contain the virus before it spread.