The U.S. dollar strengthened against its most major opponents in the New York session on Friday amid safe haven appeal, as a second wave of the coronavirus infections raised fears about the pace of economic recovery.

Risk sentiment deteriorated after France registered 10,593 fresh cases on Thursday, and Britain had a spike in infections.

Spain is currently battling a resurgent second wave of Covid-19 but the mortality levels are far lower than they were in spring.

Surging coronavirus figures across Europe should serve as "a wake-up call", Dr. Hans Kluge, regional director of The World Health Organization in Europe, said on Thursday.

The number of new cases had doubled in more than half of European member states in the past two weeks and we have a very serious situation unfolding before us, he added.

The greenback climbed to 1.1826 against the euro and 0.9113 against the franc, off its previous 2-day lows of 1.1869 and 0.9073, respectively. The greenback is poised to find resistance around 1.16 against the euro and 0.94 against the franc.

The greenback edged up to 1.2933 against the pound, reversing from its early low of 1.3000. On the upside, 1.23 is likely seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK retail sales continued to grow in August but the pace of expansion slowed markedly.

Retail sales volume increased 0.8 percent month-on-month in August, but slower than July's 3.7 percent increase. Sales were forecast to climb 0.7 percent. This was the fourth consecutive rise in volume.

After falling to 2-day lows of 1.3137 against the loonie, 0.7334 against the aussie and 0.6798 against the kiwi in early deals, the greenback rebounded to 1.3201, 0.7283 and 0.6758, respectively. The greenback is seen locating resistance around 1.34 against the loonie, 0.70 against the aussie and 0.66 against the kiwi.

In contrast, the greenback held steady against the yen, after hitting a 1-1/2-month low of 104.27 in the European session. The pair was worth 104.74 at Thursday's close.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that Japan consumer prices rose 0.2 percent on year in August - in line with expectations and slowing from 0.3 percent in July.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food costs, sank an annual 0.4 percent - again matching forecasts following the flat reading in the previous month.

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