FOREX-Dollar drops as record jobless claims make further stimulus more likely

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

(Adds details, updates prices)
By Karen Brettell
NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - The dollar dropped broadly on
Thursday after an unprecedented rise in jobless claims led
investors to anticipate that the U.S. government and Federal
Reserve would take new steps to stimulate the economy.
The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment
benefits surged to a record of more than 3 million last week as
strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought the
country to a sudden halt, unleashing a wave of layoffs that
likely ended the longest employment boom in U.S. history.
“The number has sent chills through the markets. If these
numbers continue for three or four weeks, there will be demand
for more fiscal support," and even more monetary support from
the Fed, said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at
Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
The jobless blowout was announced shortly after Federal
Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the U.S. "may well be
in recession" but progress in controlling the spread of the
coronavirus will dictate when the economy can fully reopen. His
remarks were an unusual acknowledgement by a Fed chair that the
economy may be contracting even before data confirms it.
Stocks rallied for the third day despite the dour number, as
investors focused on the prospect of additional stimulus.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously backed a $2
trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries
hurt by the coronavirus epidemic, as well as providing billions
of dollars to buy urgently needed medical equipment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the next step would be
legislation to address family leave, pensions, food aid and more
assistance to state and local government, saying that there is
no question that more money will be needed. The euro EUR= jumped 1.42% against the greenback to
$1.1034. The dollar weakened 1.57% against the Japanese yen
JPY= to 109.44 yen.
Sterling GBP= surged 2.43% to $1.2174 and the Australian
dollar AUD= gained 2.00% to $0.6077.
The Federal Reserve last week launched new bond purchase and
lending programs in an attempt to ease market logjams. It also
committed to swapping dollars for foreign currencies with other
major central banks after a desperate scramble for the U.S.
dollar last week sent it to three year highs against the euro,
35-year highs against sterling and 17-year highs against the
Australian dollar.
But many analysts see volatility in markets persisting until
the worst of the virus and its effects have passed.
“Although the latest Fed measures have helped calm markets,
as long as the Covid-19 crisis continues and the world economy
is effectively in lockdown, we would expect markets to remain in
turmoil,” foreign exchange analysts at Bank of America said in a
report on Thursday.

========================================================
Currency bid prices at 3:31PM (1931 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1034 $1.0880 +1.42% -1.57% +1.1046 +1.0872
Dollar/Yen JPY= 109.4400 111.1900 -1.57% +0.53% +111.3000 +109.2200
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 120.77 121.00 -0.19% -0.97% +121.0800 +119.9700
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9629 0.9767 -1.41% -0.51% +0.9777 +0.9621
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2174 1.1885 +2.43% -8.18% +1.2185 +1.1778
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.4036 1.4190 -1.09% +8.09% +1.4275 +1.4010
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6077 0.5958 +2.00% -13.45% +0.6087 +0.5871
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0626 1.0628 -0.02% -2.08% +1.0653 +1.0619
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9062 0.9150 -0.96% +7.19% +0.9239 +0.9060
NZ NZD= 0.5977 0.5848 +2.21% -11.27% +0.5987 +0.5779
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 10.4321 10.7480 -2.94% +18.79% +10.8276 +10.4024
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 11.5160 11.6970 -1.55% +17.06% +11.8276 +11.4532
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.9179 10.0749 -0.29% +6.10% +10.1565 +9.8968
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.9531 10.9847 -0.29% +4.62% +11.0704 +10.9309