* Aussie dollar, New Zealand dollar is not doing well in May
* Sterling declines, reflecting concerns from the Brexit transition
* Graphics: World Currency Rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Olga Cotaga
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) – U.S. The dollar was set for a weekly gain on Friday and the Australian dollar fell 1% this week as the threat of another wave of coronavirus infections rattled investors.
As hopes disappeared for a rapid global recovery from the pandemic, traders unleashed the trade-sensitive Aussie and moved into more secure assets such as the U.S. dollar.
“The risk is clear that the opening of economies takes longer to materialize than what the markets discount,” said Carl Hammer, head of macro and FICC research at SEB.
A key trigger for investor sentiment on Friday is the flash estimate of German gross domestic product data at 6 p.m. 0800 GMT. Economists polled by Reuters expect Europe’s largest economy to decline by 2.2% in the first quarter, less than other eurozone states.
“However, data published since the first estimate has generally been weaker than expected, and we see a risk that the first estimates will be revised down for more countries,” Hammer said.
The euro was last neutral against the dollar of $ 1.0796, calculated at a 0.3% weekly gain.
The Australian dollar fell 0.2% 0.6454, on a 1.1% decline since Monday. The New Zealand dollar also fell by 0.2%.
The yen was constant at 107.16 per share. Dollar, but has been lower this week as the U.S. Federal Reserve officials said the prospect of negative rates, which also curbed the dollar.
Like other majors, the antipodean couple struggled for traction in May as investors and authorities weigh optimism to ease virus containment measures against the risk of multiple infections and the large scale of financial damage already done.
Elsewhere, the British pound remained under pressure, falling 0.3% to $ 1,2202 after touching on a five-week low of $ 1,2161 overnight following the British government’s repeated refusal to extend the Brexit transition deadline beyond December.
(Reporting by Olga Cotaga, Editing by Larry King)