The U.S. dollar drifted higher against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday amid safe haven status, as a continued rise in coronavirus cases and fresh trade tensions dashed hopes of a quick economic recovery.

The U.S. broke its record for the highest coronavirus cases recorded in a single day, with 36,358 new positives reported on Wednesday, according to a tally by NBC News.

With some southern and western states reporting record number of coronavirus cases, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have asked visitors from nine states with high infection rates to quarantine for 14 days.

"There is a massive outbreak of Covid-19 across the state of Texas," Governor Greg Abbott said in a television interview.

The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast for this year and next and said the pandemic was causing wider and deeper damage to economic activity than first thought.

The IMF projected the global economy to shrink by 4.9 percent in 2020, compared to a 3 percent contraction expected earlier.

Investors await the latest weekly jobless claims report, GDP data as well as durable goods orders for more direction.

The greenback rose to a 3-day high of 1.2404 against the pound and an 8-day high of 107.26 against the yen, from its early lows of 1.2434 and 106.95, respectively. On the upside, 1.22 and 110.00 are possibly seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback against the pound and the yen, respectively.

The greenback firmed to 2-day highs of 1.1236 against the euro and 0.9492 against the franc, off its early lows of 1.1260 and 0.9469, respectively. Next immediate resistance for the dollar is seen near 1.10 against the euro and 0.97 against the franc.

The greenback reversed from its early lows of 1.3620 against the loonie and 0.6878 against the aussie and climbed to a 10-day high of 1.3654 and a 3-day high of 0.6851, respectively. The greenback is likely to target resistance around 1.38 against the loonie and 0.66 against the aussie. In contrast, the greenback dropped to 0.6429 against the kiwi, after rising to a 3-day high of 0.6399 earlier in the session. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around the 0.66 level.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand recorded a merchandise trade surplus of NZ$1.3 billion in May following the NZ$1.267 billion surplus in April.

Exports were down an annual 6.1 percent or NZ$350 million to NZ$5.39 billion.

Looking ahead, the European Central Bank publishes the account of the monetary policy meeting of the governing council held on June 3 and 4 at 7.30 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended June 20, GDP data for the first quarter, durable goods orders and wholesale inventories for May are scheduled for release.

US Dollar vs Yen (FX:USDJPY)
Forex Chart
Von Feb 2024 bis Mär 2024 Click Here for more US Dollar vs Yen Charts.
US Dollar vs Yen (FX:USDJPY)
Forex Chart
Von Mär 2023 bis Mär 2024 Click Here for more US Dollar vs Yen Charts.