2020.03.1820:42:00UTC+00Dollar Extends Reign Over Peers

The U.S. dollar saw another strong session, riding on its safe-haven appeal on Wednesday amid rising concerns about global growth due to the coronavirus outbreak.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve launched a funding facility to enable big and reputed businesses to access funds.

Although the dollar saw some weak spells in recent sessions due to sharp interest rate cuts announced by the Federal Reserve, similar monetary easing by several other top countries appeared to be prompting traders to lean towards the greenback.

The dollar index rose to 101.74 about an hour past noon, and despite parging a substantial portion of its gains, was still standing firmly in positive territory at 100.82, up 1.25% from previous close.

Against the euro, the dollar firmed up to $1.0908 from Tuesday's $1.0998, gaining more than 0.8%. At one stage, the dollar was up sharply at $1.0803 in the session.

Against pound sterling, the dollar rose sharply to $1.1473 before dropping to $1.1604, but was still high up with a gain of nearly 4%.

The Yen was weak as well against the dollar, but was down less than 0.4% at 108.08 a dollar, compared to 107.67 yen a dollar on Tuesday.

Against the Aussie, the dollar was up 3.7% with the AUD-USD pair at 0.5783.

Against Swiss franc, the dollar was stronger at 0.9677. The dollar was up almost 2% against the loonie at 1.4480 as oil prices tumbled to 18-year low amid rising concerns about outlook for energy demand.