2020.07.0720:19:00UTC+00Dollar Gains Against Most Of Its Peers

The U.S. dollar was fairly steady against most of its peers on Tuesday amid a drop in risk sentiment due to continued surge in new coronavirus cases in several parts across the world.

New coronavirus cases rose to more than 2.9 million in the U.S., and death toll from the virus sped past 130,000, as per Johns Hopkins University's latest update on Monday.

The mayor of Miami-Dade County has ordered a rollback of some reopening measures as Florida continues to see a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The United States is still "knee-deep" in the first wave of the illnesses, having never gotten the case number as low as planned, U.S. health official Anthony Fauci said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Raphael Bostic said in an interview to the Financial Times that U.S. economic recovery may be "leveling off" as activity could be dampened amid a recent surge in coronavirus infections.

The dollar index, which rose to 97.15 in the Asian session, later dropped to around 96.75 but recovered subsequently to 96.95, netting a gain of about 0.23% over previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar firmed up to $1.1260 before easing to $1.1275, but still notably up from previous close of $1.309.

Against Pound Sterling, the dollar slipped to $1.2539, going down by nearly 0.4%.

The Japanese currency was weaker at 107.56 yen a dollar, compared with 107.39 yen on Monday evening.

Against the Aussie, the dollar gained in some strength, firming up to $0.6942 from overnight $0.6973 as a new wave of coronavirus infections prompted officials to impose restrictions on some 5 million people in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city.

The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its key interest rate at a record low and the target yield on three-year government bonds unchanged, and vowed to maintain its accommodative approach as long as required amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

The Swiss franc was little changed from previous close at 0.9426 a dollar, after moving between 0.9409 and 0.9453, while the Canadian Loonie was down more than 0.5% at 1.3609 a dollar.