By Gina Lee
Investing.com – The dollar was up on Tuesday morning in Asia, reversing earlier losses as investors turn to the safe-haven asset as COVID-19 cases keep mounting.
Over 11.5 cases have been reported globally as of July 7, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The ever-increasing number of cases took the shine off positive data for the U.S. services sector released on Monday, indicating its return to growth. The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for June read 57.1, exceeding analyst forecasts and the previous month’s figure of 45.4.
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies gained 0.04% to 96.718 by 12:34 AM ET (5:34 AM GMT).
The USD/JPY pair was up 0.02% to 107.37.
The AUD/USD pair fell 0.06% to 0.6968. The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25% when it meets later in the day.
“We expect the RBA to reiterate the Australian economy is performing better than feared, and any move higher in the cash rate is some years away,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) analyst Joe Capurso told CNBC.
But he added, “the main downside risks for AUD/USD are an escalation in U.S.-China tensions and the risk partial lockdowns become more widespread."
Meanwhile, the NZD/USD pair gained 0.02% to 0.6554.
The USD/CNY pair was down 0.01% to 7.0152, with the yuan boosted by Chinese stocks continuing their rally from Monday.
The GBP/USD pair gained 0.10% to 1.2503.