The dollar held steady on Thursday as investors were cautious over expectations about a COVID-19 vaccine that is unlikely to avert a grim winter in the United States and Europe as the pandemic's latest wave intensifies.

Sterling weakened on Thursday after news that Britain's economy grew by a slower-than-expected 1.1% between August and September, a pace that leaves the UK lagging other rich nations attempting to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. dollar rose and the safe-haven yen weakened again on Wednesday as markets continued to adjust to higher interest rates and prospects for economic growth following news on Monday of encouraging results for a coronavirus vaccine.

The dollar's gains were put on hold on Wednesday as optimism about a coronavirus vaccine was offset by worries about how the drug will be delivered and by a surge of new infections in the United States.

The dollar was steady on Tuesday and the yen stayed near three-weeks lows, as investors remained optimistic about progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and the currency markets digested Monday's big moves.

Hopes that a coronavirus vaccine would put the British economy back on track pushed the pound 1% higher versus the euro on Tuesday.

Traders unloaded Japanese yen and bought riskier currencies and the U.S. dollar on Monday as market confidence in the economy and world trade increased with progress on a COVID-19 vaccine and the prospect of Joe Biden being U.S. president.

Sterling strengthened on Monday as global risk appetite rose on news of progress in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine trials, as well as Democrat Joe Biden's U.S. election win, but ongoing Brexit negotiations still weighed on the UK currency.

The dollar sank to its lowest level in over two months against a basket of peer currencies on Friday, as vote counting for the contentious U.S. elections slowly moved toward a divided government and investors predicted more losses for the currency.

Sterling was on track for a weekly gain versus the dollar on Friday, as traders digested U.S. election results and a fresh splurge of bond buying by the Bank of England.

The U.S. dollar fell to a two-week low against a basket of currencies and a seven-month low against the Japanese yen as surging stock markets reduced demand for the greenback, and as the Federal Reserve kept its loose monetary policy intact.

Sterling fell against the euro on Thursday after the Bank of England increased its already huge bond-buying stimulus by 150 billion pounds and signalled more support ahead.

The dollar hunkered down to trade in a tight range against most currencies as investors awaited final vote counts in a nail-biting U.S. election that has seen Democrat Joe Biden edge ever so closer to the White House.

The U.S. dollar gained against a basket of currencies on Wednesday after Democrats looked unlikely to take control of the U.S. Senate, leading investors to unwind bets that a large fiscal package is likely.

The British pound was volatile on Wednesday as investors waited for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, though the currency was weaker for most of the day as traders sold riskier currencies.

The U.S. dollar dipped on Tuesday on stronger risk appetite as investors positioned for the prospect that Democrat Joe Biden will win Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election and launch a large new stimulus package to boost the economy.

Sterling rose on Tuesday on the back of a broadly weaker dollar on U.S. presidential election day, ignoring that the European Union and Britain have so far failed to reach an agreement on three persistent sticking points in Brexit talks.

Bets against the U.S. dollar were expected to linger or even increase in the immediate aftermath of the Nov. 3 presidential election, despite jitters in the run-up along with surging coronavirus cases, a Reuters poll showed.

The U.S. dollar hit one-month highs against a basket of peers on Monday and expected volatility in major currencies rose to the highest levels since April on investor jitters over the outcome of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.

Sterling fell against the dollar to its lowest in almost four weeks on Monday after England announced a new national lockdown, but analysts said hopes for a Brexit deal prevented the currency from declining further.