Forex Today: Run for safety keeps supporting the USD

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, February 25th:

• Panic hit the financial word, amid concerns of the possible effects of the coronavirus on global growth. The illness spread outside China, with Italy, South Korea and Iran reporting the largest number of cases. The dollar gapped higher at the weekly opening, amid demand for safety, but trimmed daily gains on mixed US data and persistent weakens in Wall Street.
• The EUR/USD pair hit a weekly high of 1.0871, but settled around 1.0845, unchanged from Friday’s close, despite an upbeat German IFO survey.
• The GBP/USD pair ended the day in the red around 1.2920, amid mounting tensions ahead of the EU-UK trade deal.
• The Japanese yen firmed up, with USD/JPY trading as low as 110.30.
• Wall Street collapsed, with the DJIA down over 1,000 intraday.
• Gold prices soared, spot flirted with $1,690.00 a troy ounce, trimmed most daily gains ahead of the close.
• Crude oil prices were sharply lower and recovered just modestly, as  Saudi Aramco CEO expects only a limited coronavirus impact on oil demand.
• Cryptocurrencies jumped at the beginning of the day but were unable to hold on to gains. BTC/USD sub-10,000.