Question

Find out how the dollar moved during the crisis of Coronavirus. Also find important dates for the pandemic that affected the dollar and analyze the reasons for the fluctuation. (Please cite your sources)

Answer 1

Coronavirus outbreak in the United States has caused millions of people to lose their jobs and brought the economy to its knees but it has not dethroned the American dollar. To the contrary, the currency has risen in value this year, gaining six per cent from its lowest point reached in early March, according to the US dollar Index, which measure's the greenback's value against a basket of other currencies. The dollar's rise is primarily due to its privileged position as the world's reserve currency. That means that in times of crisis investors want to put their money are in safe havens, even if the US economy is in trouble as well.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, rose by around 0.8% last week, before slipping back Friday following some disappointing economic data. On Monday the index was trading flat around 99.244, although since mid-January when the outbreak of the new coronavirus took hold, the dollar index is up around 2%. Against the euro, the dollar last stood at $1.0941, on course for 1.3% weekly decline. The dollar traded at 0.9657 Swiss franc, down 1.1% for the week. On Monday, the dollar slipped 0.9% to 110.64 yen, but was still up around 0.7% over the last seven days. Against the pound GBP=D3 the dollar held steady at $1.2544 in Asia on Friday, but that followed its biggest one-day gain against sterling since July 2016. The dollar was up 3.8% against sterling this week, its best performance since October 2016.