USD/CHF clings to gains above 0.9800 as USD stays strong on Monday

• US Dollar Index starts week on strong footing.
• Markets remain focused on coronavirus headlines on Monday.
• Coming up: Chicago Fed National Activity Index and Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index.

The USD/CHF pair dropped nearly 60 pips on Friday and erased all the gains it recorded earlier in the week after the USD weakened against its peers on disappointing PMI figures. With the greenback shaking off the selling pressure at the start of the week, the pair turned north, once again, and was last seen adding 0.3% at 0.9810.

Markets remain risk-averse

The rising number of coronavirus infections outside of China, especially in Italy and South Korea, weighs on the market sentiment on Monday and helps the USD find demand. The 10-year US Treasury bond yield erasing nearly 5% and major European equity indexes are down more than 3% to reflect the intense flight-to-safety.

The US Dollar Index, which fell 0.55% on Friday after rising all the way up to 99.91 on Thursday, was last seen adding 0.25% on the day at 99.58.

In the second half of the day, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's National Activity Index and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Manufacturing Survey will be looked upon for fresh impetus. 

However, markets are likely to continue to react to headlines surrounding the coronavirus outbreak while largely ignoring mid-tier macroeconomic data releases.

Technical levels to consider