FOREX-U.S. dollar rallies as global easing policies give short-term reprieve

* Pandemic fears keep FX markets jittery
* Analysts say month-end flows may support dollar
* Offshore yuan weaker after China cuts interbank rate
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

(Adds new comment, FX table, updates prices; changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - The dollar rebounded against major currencies and riskier emerging
market units on Monday, snapping a week of declines as investors braced for prolonged uncertainty and
governments tightened lockdowns and launched monetary and fiscal measures to fight the coronavirus
pandemic.
China's offshore yuan fell after the Chinese central bank cut a key interbank interest rate, while
Singapore's central bank aggressively eased monetary policy as well on Monday. The euro, sterling and Australian dollar were all lower, bringing an end to recent rebounds that
followed the Federal Reserve's efforts to calm the safe-haven rush to own the U.S. currency earlier this
month.
"You're starting see other central banks being active, with Singapore, for instance, delivering an
adjustment to its band," said Edward Moya, senior market strategist at OANDA in New York. "All this
follow-through easing around the world is providing a temporary dollar rebound."
Concern about the spreading coronavirus and the economic impact of shutdowns continued to dominate
foreign exchange markets, but price moves on Monday were relatively well-contained and much smaller than
in recent sessions.
"I think you have to say that risk is still high," said Adam Cole, a currencies strategist at RBC
Capital Markets.
"The underlying news flow out of China has been a lot better, in Italy it has improved ... but that's
not the case in the UK and certainly not the case in the U.S."
He said markets needed to see "broader evidence of a peak in infections" before calm returned and
otherwise risked more "brutal selloffs periodically".
In mid-morning trading, the dollar index rose 0.9% to 99.17.
Analysts said investors' end-of-month portfolio rebalancing as well as nervousness about the virus was
also supporting the dollar.
The euro dropped more than 1% to $1.1026 EUR=EBS . Sterling fell 0.8% $1.2384 GBP=D3 .
Over the past two weeks, the dollar first posted its biggest weekly rise since the 2008 financial
crisis as investors and companies rushed into the world's most liquid currency, then saw its biggest
weekly drop since 2009. Signs of funding stress have eased but not abated and hard-dollar cash remains in
high demand.
The safe-haven Japanese yen JPY=EBS rose marginally, putting the dollar down 0.1% to 107.81.
Total global deaths from the virus are around 34,000 and the United States has emerged as the latest
epicentre, with more than 141,000 confirmed cases and 2,400 deaths. The dollar gained 0.4% versus the offshore Chinese yuan CNH=EBS to 7.1132 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 Australian dollar dropped sharply before recovering to trade down 0.3% against the greenback to
US$0.6149 AUD=D3 .
The rand ZAR= crumbled to a record low after Moody's cut South Africa's credit rating. Currency bid prices at 10:07AM (1407 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1037 $1.1140 -0.92% -1.54% +1.1143 +1.1011
Dollar/Yen JPY= 107.7200 107.8900 -0.16% -1.04% +108.2900 +107.1300
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 118.92 120.21 -1.07% -2.48% +120.0000 +118.8800
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9564 0.9512 +0.55% -1.18% +0.9589 +0.9504
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2389 1.2456 -0.54% -6.56% +1.2467 +1.2319
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.4160 1.3977 +1.31% +9.02% +1.4183 +1.3993
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6155 0.6165 -0.16% -12.33% +0.6184 +0.6113
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0556 1.0591 -0.33% -2.72% +1.0605 +1.0552
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8907 0.8950 -0.48% +5.36% +0.8988 +0.8877
NZ NZD= 0.6013 0.6035 -0.36% -10.75% +0.6062 +0.5985
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 10.5720 10.3966 +1.69% +20.44% +10.6724 +10.3630
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 11.6730 11.6825 -0.08% +18.65% +11.8112 +11.6146
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 10.0468 9.8994 +0.65% +7.48% +10.0579 +9.8946
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 11.0951 11.0233 +0.65% +5.98% +11.0983 +10.9988