Dollar On Defensive Even after Job Market Recovery Survives Second Coronavirus Wave

The Dollar remained on the back foot Thursday, taking the Dollar Index below a key level of technical support on the charts even after official data suggested the still tentative U.S. labour market recovery endured in the face of a second wave of coronavirus infections that's sweeping the country.

The Dollar crumbled Wednesday as investors again demonstrated an increasing aversion to the greenback that pushed the Dollar Index back to late June lows while lifting Pound Sterling and the Euro to multi-week highs.

The Dollar was unwinding earlier gains on Tuesday as risk appetites appeared to be revived by the return of North American traders, enabling Pound Sterling to slip out into the lead among major currencies while others also pared earlier losses.

The U.S. economy's sharp rebound from the slump of the covid-19 lockdown continues with the non-manufacturing sector roaring back to life in June, according to the ISM non-manufacturing index which was updated on Monday.

The Pound recovered sharply off June lows against the Dollar last week and a number of analysts say it could have legs to extend its correction higher in the coming days, though appetite for Sterling will be tested by domestic developments multiple times even if global investor risk appetite remains robust. 

The Dollar caught a breather Friday as stock markets slipped ahead of the weekend ahead of the weekend and selling of the greenback abated from earlier levels with Americans out for the Independence Day public holiday. 

Dollar losses eased Thursday after the U.S. non-farm payrolls report again surpassed market expectations, with job gains stoking already upbeat sentiment in a buoyant market for risk assets but curtailing an earlier increases by the Pound, Euro and other currencies. 

The Pound-to-Dollar rate surged Wednesday as Sterling outperformed all but the oil-linked Norwegian Krone although gains reflected the ebb and flow of risk appetite and positioning, rather than a fundamentally positive change in the outlook for the British currency.