FOREX-Dollar on firmer footing as investors seek safety

* Dollar firm after worst week since 2009
* Yen supported with risk-off mood
* Rand hits record low after Moody's downgrades S. Africa
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - The dollar snapped a week of
declines and the safe-haven yen found support on Monday, as
coronavirus lockdowns tightened across the world and investors
braced for a prolonged period of uncertainty.
After its worst week since 2009, the greenback climbed
against the pound, euro, kiwi and the Australian dollar in a
cautious Asian session.
Sterling GBP= was last 0.8% softer at $1.2357, the Aussie
AUD=D3 down 0.5% at $0.6134, while the euro EUR=EBS fell by
the same margin to $1.1077.
Against a basket of currencies =USD the dollar rose 0.5%
to 98.831.
"Now that the (dollar) funding pressure is easing somewhat,
the focus is pretty much shifting towards assessing the damage,"
said Bank of Singapore currency analyst Moh Siong Sim.
"And there, the viral infection rate is still up in the air,
(and) it's a bit of risk-aversion."
The safe-haven Japanese yen JPY=EBS was steady at 108.02
yen per dollar.
Both the dollar and yen rose against emerging market
currencies after a weekend which brought more bad news on the
virus front. EMRG/FRX
Total deaths are nearly 34,000 and the United States has
emerged as the latest epicentre, with more than 137,000 cases
and 2,400 deaths. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, said the pandemic could ultimately kill
between 100,000 and 200,000 people in the United States, if
mitigation was not successful.
Lockdowns are toughening worldwide and U.S. President Donald
Trump, who had talked about reopening the economy for Easter, on
Sunday extended guidelines for social restrictions to April 30.
The Chinese yuan CNH= also slipped 0.3% in offshore trade
to 7.1062 after the People's Bank of China unexpectedly cut a
key interbank interest rate, the seven-day reverse repurchase
rate, by 20 basis points. The Singapore dollar SGD=D3 jumped briefly after the
city-state's central bank eased policy, as expected, but
emphasised stability rather than foreshadowing further easing.
Elsewhere the oil-exposed Norwegian krone NOK=D3 fell
heavily along with declining oil prices and the South African
rand ZAR= crumbled to a record low after Moody's cut South
Africa's credit rating. DOLLAR DETHRONED?
The dollar's modest gains on Monday barely recover a
fraction of the ground it gave up last week, yet that slump
followed a massive surge that leaves the U.S. currency still
elevated.
Over the past two weeks the dollar first posted its biggest
weekly rise since the 2008 financial crisis and then its biggest
weekly drop since 2009. Signs of funding stress have eased but
not abated as hard cash remains in high demand.
"Risk aversion has been more important to the direction of
the dollar than traditional interest rate differentials,"
Standard Chartered analysts said in a note.
"For the dollar to surrender some of its recent gains,
investors would need to shift their preferences back to a
broader basket of safe-haven assets."
Monday's bond rally showed some signs of a broader flight to
safety, but a fall in gold and softness in the yen and Swiss
franc suggest investors still favour dollars above
all. MKTS/GLOB
The franc CHF= fell half a percent to 0.9562 per dollar.
Yields at the very short end of the U.S. curve dipped into
negative territory and the benchmark 10-year yield US10YT=RR
fell nearly 9 basis points to 0.6713%.
"We aren't wavering in our long-held bullish dollar/emerging
markets view," said Jason Daw, head of emerging markets strategy
at Societe Generale.
"It is a risk-off market, until it isn't, and bottom fishing
has poor risk-reward."


(Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong)