FOREX-Bleak jobs data keeps dollar at one-week high

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

(Updates throughout)
By Kate Duguid
NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a one-week
high on Thursday as investors fled to safe-haven assets
following the release of weekly U.S. jobless data which showed a
record 22 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits in
the last month, erasing nearly all job gains since the Great
Recession.
The dollar index =USD rose as high as 100.3 in morning
trade, and was holding near those levels at the end of the North
American session, last at 100.03, up 0.40% on the day.
The forced closure of businesses across the country, aimed
at containing the coronavirus outbreak, has torpedoed the
American economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits
were at 5.25 million for the week ended April 11, down 1.37
million from the week prior, the government said. The deepening economic slump was also amplified by other
data on Thursday showing manufacturing activity in the
mid-Atlantic region plunged to levels last seen in 1980 and
homebuilding tumbling by the most in 36 years in March. Dire
U.S. retail and factory data and a nosedive in oil prices to
18-year lows on Wednesday strengthened the dollar across the
board.
While stabilizing oil prices helped temper the dollar's
gains, the data outlook was dismal.
"The dollar has fared better this week as record weak data
suggested a longer and more uncertain road to recovery, a dimmer
outlook that's revived appetite for haven assets," said Joe
Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business
Solutions.
The greenback has gained broadly during the crisis as
investors scramble for the safety of the world's reserve
currency, although it is down from its late-March highs since
the U.S. Federal Reserve unleashed a stream of measures to
support the economy.
"We think we need a weaker dollar for risk sentiment. But as
long as we have these fears and stresses out there, people will
continue to flock to the dollar. I think it's hard in the short
term to see a big dollar move," said Scott DiMaggio, co-head of
fixed income at AllianceBernstein.
The euro resumed its drop versus the dollar, down 0.59% at
$1.084 EUR= as a half-trillion-euro compromise deal struck
between euro zone governments last week to support countries
through the coronavirus outbreak is widely seen as insufficient,
especially for debt-laden Italy.
The yen weakened 0.23% against the dollar, as Japan extended
a state of emergency beyond major cities to the entire nation.
JPY= The dollar rose against currencies considered riskier bets,
edging up against the British pound and the Australian and New
Zealand dollars. GBP= AUD= NZD=