* Safe-haven Japanese yen hits five-month high vs dollar
* Sterling rises as BoE resists pressure of to cut rates
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slipped to a fresh eight-week low as U.S. benchmark
10-year Treasury yields fell to new troughs and traders bet the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest
rates further, after slashing them by 50 basis points this week in an emergency move to shield the economy
from the effects of the coronavirus.
Monetary policy easing in the United States, fueled by worries about the economic impact of the
coronavirus, is endangering the dollar's years-long rally and giving a boost to currencies around the
world. On Thursday, the dollar index =USD , which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six
other major currencies, was about 0.8% lower at 96.639, after slipping as low as 96.608, its weakest since
Jan. 6.
Money markets were pricing in another 25 basis-point-cut from the current 1% to 1.25% range at the
next Fed meeting on March 18-19 and a 50-basis-point cut by April.
"The cuts were emergency, so it's worth wondering, will the Fed strike again like this or will they
telegraph another move? It seems like they're willing to help at any point, thus the lack of faith in the
buck is understandable," said Juan Perez, senior foreign exchange trader and strategist at Tempus Inc in
Washington.
The fast-spreading coronavirus, which emerged late last year in central China, is now in some 80
countries and has killed more than 3,000 worldwide.
Against the Japanese yen JPY= , which tends to attract investors during times of geopolitical or
financial stress because Japan is the world's biggest creditor nation, the dollar fell 1.2% to a six-month
low and was last at 106.22 yen.
"Wall Street was down nearly 3% at midsession, while Treasury yields headed to fresh all-time lows,
both combining to weigh heavily on the pairing," said Ronald Simpson, managing director of global currency
analysis at Action Economics.
The dollar found little support from data that showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment
benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market was on solid footing despite the coronavirus
outbreak. The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, a day after the Bank of Canada
delivered its biggest interest rate cut in more than 10 years and signaled it was ready to ease further
because of the coronavirus outbreak. Sterling GBP= gained 0.7% against the greenback as expectations waned for an immediate Bank of
England rate cut to follow this week's emergency move by the Fed.
Incoming BoE governor Andrew Bailey dampened expectations of an inter-meeting cut late on Wednesday,
telling lawmakers the central bank should wait until it has more clarity about the economic hit from the
outbreak. Currency bid prices at 3:29 PM (2029 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1214 $1.1134 +0.72% +0.04% +1.1218 +1.1120
Dollar/Yen JPY= 106.2200 107.5200 -1.21% -2.43% +107.7300 +106.2300
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 119.14 119.74 -0.50% -2.30% +119.9800 +119.1000
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9470 0.9567 -1.01% -2.15% +0.9573 +0.9470
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2954 1.2870 +0.65% -2.30% +1.2958 +1.2861
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3412 1.3384 +0.21% +3.28% +1.3438 +1.3383
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6594 0.6626 -0.48% -6.08% +0.6637 +0.6585
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0620 1.0655 -0.33% -2.14% +1.0675 +1.0617
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8656 0.8649 +0.08% +2.40% +0.8678 +0.8622
NZ NZD= 0.6297 0.6296 +0.02% -6.52% +0.6334 +0.6281
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.2901 9.2554 +0.37% +5.83% +9.3074 +9.2417
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.4211 10.3060 +1.12% +5.93% +10.4258 +10.3006
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.4508 9.4777 +0.47% +1.11% +9.4899 +9.4379
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6004 10.5510 +0.47% +1.25% +10.6020 +10.5370
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Major currencies vs dollar https://tmsnrt.rs/39l3Hc2
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