FOREX-Dollar holds advantage as anxiety grows over rise in coronavirus cases

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Risk appetite fades as virus cases rise again
* Aussie awaits data on jobs market
* Pound in narrow range before BOE

By Stanley White
TOKYO, June 18 (Reuters) - The dollar held onto gains on
Thursday as growing concerns about a rise in coronavirus cases
underpinned safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency.
The British pound traded in a narrow range before a Bank of
England meeting where policymakers are expected to expand
quantitative easing in the face of a stuttering economy and
rocky trade negotiations with the European Union.
A surge in new coronavirus infections in several U.S. states
and the imposition of travel curbs in Beijing to stop a separate
outbreak have served as a reminder that the pandemic could be a
severe drag on the global economy for a protracted period.
"Upside for U.S. stocks and other risk assets has dwindled
because more people are talking about a second wave of virus
infections," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange
strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"This supports the dollar and the yen because they are both
safe havens. The pound has its own problems. The British economy
is not in good shape and a hard Brexit remains a risk."
The dollar traded at $1.1240 per euro EUR=EBS on Thursday
in Asia following a 0.2% gain in the previous session.
The greenback bought 0.9489 Swiss franc CHF=EBS , holding
onto a 0.3% gain on Wednesday.
The yen JPY=D3 edged up to 106.81 against the dollar.
Sterling GBP=D3 inched down to $1.2547, on course for a
third day of losses. Against the euro, the pound was little
changed at 89.60 pence EURGBP= .
A spike in new coronavirus infections and hospitalisations
in several parts of the United States over the last two weeks
points to a troubling trend because cases had been falling for
more than a month. China's capital has cancelled scores of flights and blocked
off some neighbourhoods to contain a coronavirus outbreak that
has fanned fears of wider contagion. The situation in both the United States and China has raised
fresh concerns about the risks of re-opening economic activity
before a vaccine has been developed.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 traded at $0.6878, extending
a pull back from a one-year high reached last week.
Many traders in the Aussie kept to the sidelines before the
release of Australian jobs data later on Thursday.
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 eased
slightly to $0.6449 after data showed the economy shrank more
than expected in the first quarter. The British pound got off to a quiet start in Asia but will
come into focus later in the day as traders brace for the Bank
of England's policy meeting.
The BOE is expected to boost its quantitative easing
programme by 100 billion pounds ($125 billion), with some
analysts eyeing an even larger increase amid concerns about the
economic outlook. Britain is seeking a free trade agreement with the EU, which
it left on Jan. 31, but negotiators have so far made little
progress, raising the risk both sides will fail to agree a deal
before a deadline at the end of the year.