U.S. Dollar Appreciates On Global Growth Concerns

The U.S. dollar climbed against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as growing fears over the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and its impact on the global economic growth improved demand for safe-haven assets.

Asian shares followed Wall Street lower as investors worry that a spike in Delta variant infections could have a greater drag on the economy.

News that the Biden administration is planning to add 10 Chinese entities to its economic blacklist further dampened risk sentiment.

China's crackdown on technology companies, worries over the Fed's policy tightening and political tensions in the Middle East also contributed to the decline.

Overnight data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims rose more than expected last week. That was another signal of uneven recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The greenback reversed from its early lows of 1.3795 against the pound and 1.1850 against the euro, rising to 1.3755 and 1.1825, respectively. The greenback is likely to challenge resistance around 1.34 against the pound and 1.16 against the euro.

The greenback edged up to 110.13 against the yen and 0.9175 against the franc, after falling to 109.66 and 0.9138, respectively in prior deals. On the upside, 112 and 0.94 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the yen and the franc, respectively.

In contrast, the greenback retreated to 1.2520 against the loonie, 0.7440 against the aussie and 0.6953 against the kiwi, down from its early high of 1.2557, more than 7-month high of 0.7410 and a 3-week high of 0.6923, respectively. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around 1.23 against the loonie, 0.77 against the aussie and 0.72 against the kiwi.

Looking ahead, the European Central Bank publishes the account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council held on June 9-10 at 7:30 am ET.

Canada jobs data for June and U.S. wholesale inventories for May are scheduled for release in the New York session.