NEW YORK, Feb 14 — The euro plunged to more than two-year lows against the dollar yesterday as concerns about a sharp rise in the number of new cases of the coronavirus outbreak in China led investors to seek out US assets.

The United States is expected to weather the economic impact of the virus better than the eurozone.

The death toll in China’s Hubei province from the coronavirus outbreak leapt by a record 242 yesterday to 1,310, with a sharp rise in confirmed cases after the adoption of new methodology for diagnosis, health officials said.

"Europe, and Germany in particular, have very strong trade linkages to Asian markets, and specifically with China,” said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York.

"Coming into the year expectations were for a moderate growth rebound. While it did seem reasonable at the time, the disruptions are going to delay that narrative.” The euro dropped to US$1.0848 (RM4.49), the lowest since May 2017. It breached technical support at the October low of US$1.0877 on Wednesday.

That leaves the currency vulnerable to further losses, analysts said. The single currency also dropped against the safe haven Swiss franc to 1.0617 francs, its lowest level since August 2015.

The Japanese yen gained against the dollar yesterday to ¥109.79.

The greenback has benefited against the euro from a popular carry trade, where investors borrow in low-yielding currencies such as the euro and invest in dollars or other higher-yielding currencies.

Expectations that central banks will hold rates low, and may provide more accommodation if the coronavirus harms the global economy, is supporting risk appetite and may reduce the likelihood of a sharp selloff in stocks.

"The perspective is that rates will remain low, and that is cushioning some of the downside on the equity side,” said Issa.

Stocks slipped yesterday after setting a record closing high every day of this week.

US data yesterday showed that US underlying consumer prices picked up in January as households paid more for rents and clothing, supporting the Federal Reserve’s contention that inflation would gradually rise toward its 2 per cent target. ­— Reuters