FOREX-Broadly strong dollar drives yen to 10-month low

* Yen continues slide, logs biggest 2-day fall since Sept.
2017
* Dollar index at highest since April 2017, just shy of 100

(Updates to U.S. afternoon)
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The yen fell past 112 to a
10-month low against a broadly stronger U.S. dollar on Thursday,
extending recent losses for the Japanese currency as investors
fretted about dire economic news out of the country.
Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.62% to 112.04 yen, its
highest since April. The yen, which benefits during geopolitical
or financial stress as Japan is the worlds biggest creditor
nation, has slipped about 2% over the last two sessions, its
biggest two-day drop since September 2017.
"The JPY has slipped sharply this week and lost more ground
overnight as its safe-haven appeal vanishes amid local virus
worries," Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in
Toronto said in a note.
China reported a drop in new coronavirus infections on
Thursday, but scientists warned the pathogen may spread more
easily than previously believed as two elderly passengers from a
ship quarantined in Tokyo became the latest to die. A run of dismal economic news out of Japan has stirred talk
the country is already in recession. "The ties to China, exposure to the coronavirus, compounded
by Japan's own domestic challenges is bolstering fears that the
world's third-largest economy is likely contracting for the
second consecutive quarter," said Marc Chandler, chief market
strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was 0.30% higher
at 99.864, just shy of the 100 mark, a level not touched in
nearly three years.
Financial markets were little moved by U.S. unemployment
data. There was encouraging news on the struggling
manufacturing sector, with other data showing factory activity
in the mid-Atlantic region accelerated to a three-year high in
February, likely as tensions diminished in the 19-month trade
war between the United States and China.
The U.S. economy is showing no signs of losing steam, U.S.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said in an upbeat
assessment of the outlook that showed little alarm about the
coronavirus outbreak. The Australian dollar slid to a near 11-year trough as data
showing a surprisingly sharp rise in unemployment added to the
case for further cuts in interest rates at a time when markets
were already skittish over the coronavirus. The Aussie was 0.91%
lower against the greenback. Sterling plunged to a three-month low against the dollar as
the greenback's broad-based strength swept away recent pound
gains which were driven by the appointment of a new, potentially
high-spending British finance minister.

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Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
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