FOREX-Virus spread beyond China spurs new round of dollar buying

* Italy, S. Korea, Iran new frontiers in coronavirus spread
* Aussie, kiwi slide as outbreak's pace sparks new fears
* Yen left behind as gold and bonds rally
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Asian currencies slid on
Monday as the rapid spread of the coronavirus beyond China drove
fears of a pandemic and sent investors flocking to gold and the
dollar for safety.
Italy, South Korea and Iran all posted sharp rises in
infections over the weekend. South Korea now has more than 600
cases, Italy more than 150 and Iran 43 cases. The World Health Organization said it was worried about the
growing number of cases without any clear link to China, where
the virus' outbreak is believed to have begun.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 , sensitive to developments in
the outbreak because Australia is a major exporter of
commodities, fell through $0.66 to touch a fresh 11-year low in
early trade.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 followed it down. The
Singapore dollar, Thai baht and Korean won - all sensitive to
China's economic fortunes - were sold for greenbacks. EMRG/FRX
The risk aversion, which also saw U.S. stock futures tumble
and gold and bonds rise, unusually extended to the Japanese yen.
MKTS/GLOB
After partially recovering last week's tumble on Friday, it
traded flat at 111.55 per dollar as Asian investors discount its
safety value owing to Japan's virus exposure.
"The market reaction to the coronavirus appears to be
evolving, beginning to differentiate the currencies vulnerable
to the virus from the rest," Barclays analysts said.
"U.S. dollar assets provide relative attractiveness," they
wrote. "In fact, our economists forecast no impact on U.S.
growth from Covid-19, with relatively few domestic incidents and
a low dependency on China's economy."
Against a basket of currencies =USD , the dollar headed
back toward an almost three-year peak touched last week, before
soft economic data knocked it from its perch on Friday.
It was a touch firmer on the euro at $1.0837 EUR= and
pound at $1.2948 GBP= .
The coronavirus has killed more than 2,400 people in China,
which also accounts for 98% of global diagnoses. However, the
weekend's spread outside of China appears to have caught
authorities on the hop.
Italy has halted the carnival of Venice, shut schools, and
sealed off affected towns across its wealthy north, but is
struggling to find out how and where the virus' spread began.
Seoul has put South Korea on high alert. Cases in China continue to climb - with every fresh rise
only adding to the growing human cost of the virus and to its
economic disruption as China's economy idles.
"From here on, a lot will depend on how fast China can
resume production and contain negative implications for supply
chains and global economic growth," said Stephen Innes, Asia
Pacific Market Strategist at AxiCorp.
The Chinese yuan CNH= was 0.3% weaker at 7.0555 per dollar
in offshore trade. CNY/