At the start of a fresh trading week, the US dollar appears to have regained some of its strength and is making gains especially against other riskier currencies as markets once again worry about the extent of economic damage the coronavirus pandemic could drive. At the time of writing, the US dollar index DXY is trading around 99.90.

Markets are trading with a risk-off sentiment, sending stocks and crude oil lower and supporting the safe haven appeal of the US dollar as traders fear a deeper economic slowdown in Q2 2020 as the coronavirus rages on across the world, prompting governments to extend shutdowns and delay their plans to restart economic activity. In the US alone, the death toll has crossed 40,000 and a political fight threatens to erupt over Trump’s plans to revive economic activity, even as state governors oppose these plans.

Markets are expected to continue focusing on latest developments related to the economic impact of the pandemic as governments around the world unveil their plans to extend lockdowns in the wake of the continued rise in the number of cases and death toll. The US dollar could also see some sharp moves on the release of monthly employment data later this week.