FOREX-Dollar stands tall as U.S. retail slump fans flight to safety

* Dollar holds gains against other G10 currencies
* U.S. retail sales post record fall, factory output
collapses
* Plunge in oil prices hurt Canadian dollar, Norwegian krona
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - A flight to safety bid pushed
the dollar higher against its peers on Thursday after dire
retail and factory data showed the severity of the collapse in
U.S. economic activity caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The dollar's index against a basket of six other major
currencies =USD stood at 99.632, maintaining the 0.8% gain
from the previous session.
The euro backed off to $1.0911 EUR= from a two-week high
of $1.0980 while the dollar stood at 107.42 yen JPY= , having
added 0.2% on Wednesday.
U.S. data underlined fears that damage to the economy from
the coronavirus outbreak will be deep and protracted.
Retail sales dropped a record 8.7% in March from the
previous month, underscoring the unprecedented scale of economic
damage from measures to contain the spread of the novel
coronavirus. A report from the Federal Reserve separately showed
manufacturing output plummeted 6.3% last month, the biggest
decrease since February 1946.
The New York Federal Reserve also reported on Wednesday that
its Empire State manufacturing index, which tracks activity in
the sector for New York State, fell to an all-time low.
All those grim numbers poured cold water on recent
improvements in market sentiment and hopes the outbreak may be
nearing its peak with many developed countries looking to
re-open their economies as soon as next month.
"Given the scale and breadth of the U.S. shutdown, our best
guess is the economy contracts by around 13% peak-to-trough
before we start to see a rolling process of re-opening in the
United States from mid-May," said James Knightley, Chief
international economist at ING.
"This will involve some ongoing form of social distancing
meaning that a return to 'business as usual' could take many
months – we don't expect the lost output to be fully recovered
until mid-2022."
The British pound traded at $1.2523 GBP=D4 having lost
nearly 1% in the previous session.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6318 AUD=D4
following a drop of 1.9% on Wednesday, its biggest since March
18, ahead of local employment data due at 0130 GMT.
A plunge in crude prices weighed heavily on oil producing
countries' currencies.
The Norwegian krona softened 1.4% to 11.470 per euro
EURNOK= in the previous session.
The Canadian dollar CAD=D4 nursed losses at C$1.4116
CAD=D4 . The Bank of Canada on Wednesday added to the suite of
assets it is purchasing to cushion the economic blow of the
coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. crude prices fell to an 18-year low and Brent lost more
than 6% on Wednesday after the United States reported its
biggest weekly inventory build on record. O/R