* Yen bounces after worst 2-day performance since September
2017
* U.S. services, manufacturing sectors hit wall in February
* Euro, pound get respite after better-than-expected PMI
data
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments;
new byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell across the
board on Friday after a survey of purchasing managers showed
U.S. business activity in the manufacturing and services sectors
stalled in February as companies have grown increasingly
concerned about the coronavirus.
The IHS Markit flash services sector Purchasing Managers'
Index dropped to 49.4 this month, the lowest since October 2013
and signaling that a sector accounting for roughly two-thirds of
the U.S. economy was in contraction for the first time since
2016. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 53.
The manufacturing sector barely escaped a slip into
contraction, with a flash reading of 50.8, the lowest since
August.
Against a basket of six other currencies, the U.S. dollar
was down 0.51%.
The dollar's broad weakness and increased demand for safe
havens helped the yen pull back from a 10-month low hit in the
previous session.
The yen, which lost 2% against the dollar in the previous
two days amid worries about the health of the Japanese economy,
was up 0.5% against the greenback on Friday.
Coronavirus cases in South Korea and Japan, coupled with
this week's dismal economic news out of Japan that stirred talk
the country is already in recession, pressured the Japanese
currency this week.
"Fundamentally, the case is clearly a bearish one for the
yen, though the dynamics underpinning the currency as a safe
haven should keep the Japanese currency on the list of
outperforming currencies," Jonathan Coughtrey, managing director
at Action Economics, said in a note.
The yen typically rises during geopolitical or financial
stress as Japan is the worlds biggest creditor nation.
The new coronavirus has infected hundreds of people in
Chinese prisons, authorities said on Friday, contributing to a
jump in reported cases beyond the epidemic's epicenter in Hubei
province, including 100 more in South Korea.
The Australian recovered ground to trade little-changed on
the day against its U.S. counterpart after slipping to an
11-year lows on Friday. The impact of the coronavirus epidemic
in China, the biggest export market for Australia, has pressured
the Aussie in recent sessions. The New Zealand dollar was
similarly about flat on the day.
The antipodean currencies have now plunged nearly 6% since
the start of this year.
The euro was 0.6% higher against the greenback. Business
activity in the euro zone picked up more than expected this
month, a business survey showed on Friday, in welcome news for
policymakers at the European Central Bank, who are trying to
revive growth and chronically low inflation.
Sterling rose against the dollar after British factories
reported the fastest rise in output for 10 months in February,
assuaging some fears over the economy as Britain prepares for
trade talks with the European Union. The pound was up 0.53%
against the greenback.
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)