⁍ The dollar was headed for its best week of the month on Friday.

---

⁍ As fresh curbs to combat COVID-19 were introduced in Europe and Britain.

---

⁍ The U.S. Midwest is also battling record surges in new cases.

---

– The dollar surged to a two-week high against a basket of currencies Thursday as authorities in Europe and Britain imposed new restrictions on the spread of the coronavirus, which has now infected hundreds of people in Europe. London was placed under a full lockdown at midnight, with a curfew in Paris in place, as the virus spread, reports Reuters. In the US, the Midwest has also been hit with a record surge in new cases, prompting authorities to set up a field hospital in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “Markets fear a slowdown in activity as new virus cases rise,” analysts said in a note. “The deterioration is evident everywhere across Europe, which is a major blow to the recovery’s momentum and reinforces deflationary risks.” Meanwhile, President Trump said Thursday that he was willing to raise his offer of $1.8 trillion for a COVID-19 relief deal, but the idea was nixed by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The euro fell 0.3% against the dollar overnight and has lost about 1% for the week so far. The US dollar has gained 0.8% against a basket of currencies so far this week, its largest weekly rise since late September. Dollar demand pushed even the safe-haven yen lower on Thursday, though the Japanese currency is up 0.2% for the week. The yen was last steady at 105.38 per dollar.