Dollar advances despite growing coronavirus worries

The US dollar rose against most of its peers on Thursday, despite the growing coronavirus fears, as it still casts its shadow on global markets.

The World Health Organization warned that the virus has not reached it peak yet and it's still spreading at a high rate.

The organization also reported that virus might be airborne in crowded places such as restaurants and gyms.

The number of coronavirus infections have surpassed the 12 million cases barrier, with a death toll of 550,000 victims worldwide.

The US unemployment claims reached 1.314 million during the past week, beating economists' forecasts of 1.37 million.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.3% to 96.7 points as of 18:45 GMT, after hitting an intraday high of 96.8 a low of 96.2.