* Virus Anxiety and Sino-U.S. Tensions drive dollar bids
* AUD goes against the first weekly loss of six weeks
* Graphics: World Currency Rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, May 15 (Reuters) – The dollar eased from a three-week high on Friday but appeared to be a modest weekly gain as rising Sino-U.S. Tensions and concerns over another wave of coronavirus infections rattled investors.
As we waited for hope of a rapid global recovery from the pandemic, the trade-sensitive Australian dollar intended to tap five-week gains with a 1% drop, its first weekly loss since early April.
The Aussie was stable at $ 0.6464 morning trading, roughly in the middle of the range it has held throughout the month.
The beaten kiwi creeps back over 60 cents to $ 0.6008 from a three-week low of $ 0.5958 Thursday.
But most major currencies were stable as larger economies began to facilitate virus containment.
The yen was stable at 107.40 per share. Dollar. An emergency in much of Japan was lifted Thursday.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar is up about 0.5% this week.
An already bleak U.S. the economic outlook is further darkened in the latest Reuters survey of economists, with the expectation of a 35% annual contraction in the second quarter. While a recovery is still expected in the second half, the economy is nowhere near recovering the land it lost this year.
“The market is sort of in a wait-and-see state at the moment, waiting to see in particular whether US-China trade tensions escalate,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior currency analyst at National Australia Bank.
“Trump makes a lot of vocal dissatisfaction, but the reality is that if he goes into any meaningful punishment, he knows it will have market consequences and given the fragile state of the US economy, it’s a tricky balance sheet.”
In an interview with Fox Business Network broadcast Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was disappointed by China’s lack of coronavirus content and suggested he could cut ties.
“There are many things we could do. We could do things. We could cut off the whole relationship,” he said.
China insists it has been transparent, but in the midst of an increasingly bitter exchange, both parties have questioned the future of a partial trade agreement they signed in January.
The Chinese yuan, a barometer of the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, slipped to a week-long overnight, but recovered losses and remained stable ahead of April data for industrial and retail sales due at 4 p.m. 0200 GMT.
Investors have been pleased with signs of a rebound in China’s manufacturing sector, but are closely following the retail figures for signs of a return on consumer spending as the world looks to China for clues to what a COVID-19 recovery looks like.
A Reuters survey of economists shows expectations of a 1.5% increase in industrial production and a 7% decline in retail sales, which narrowed from the March 15.8% sales decline.
“Data releases can shape the trading day … and could add any positive momentum if they land near forecasts,” said Michael McCarthy, chief marketing strategist at CMC Markets.
Elsewhere, the British pound remained under pressure of $ 1.2221, after touching on a five-week low of $ 1.2161 overnight, after the UK government reiterated its refusal to extend the Brexit transition deadline beyond December.
The euro also hit an almost five-year low against the Swiss franc of 1,502 francs as the crisis put pressure on the single currency. It last held at $ 1.0840. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Kim Coghill)