Early trade in New York: Dollar dips as Trump floats idea of election delay

NEW YORK: The US dollar dipped on Thursday after US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of delaying the nation's November presidential election, and it is on track for its worst monthly performance in a decade as the spread of the coronavirus continues to weigh on the US economy.

Trump repeated claims of mail-in voter fraud, writing on Twitter "delay the election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"

The comments reversed an earlier dollar bounce.

The dollar index against a basket of currencies was last down 0.02% at 93.34. It is on track for a 4.17% decline this month, which would be the worst monthly performance since September 2010.

The euro set a new 22-month high of $1.1808, before dropping back to $1.1791, up 0.01% on the day.

The single currency was weighed down earlier on Thursday after data showed that the German economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 10.1% in the second quarter, its steepest plunge on record. Sterling gained 0.43% to $1.13051, its highest since March.