Ongoing upbeat US figures battled rising coronavirus cases and deaths. More significant US economic indicators, the European Central Bank's meeting, a leaders' summit, US politics  – and COVID-statistics are all in the mix in a busy week.

Optimism from China and the Chancellor has pushed the pair higher, yet US coronavirus and also politics held it back. COVID-19 statistics remain dominant, but the calendar also comes into the spotlight with UK GDP, claims, and inflation, while US figures are centered on the consumer.

Late summer doldrums have hit the currency markets early this year abetted by the indecision over Covid and the improving US economy.

The AUD/USD pair fluctuated in a 70-pip range this week and struggled to make a decisive move in either direction. Despite the upbeat market mood, the AUD struggled to gather strength against the greenback amid heightened geopolitical tensions between Australia and China.

Bitcoin attempted a rally in the middle of the week, but the effort was so feeble, that the price couldn't even touch $9,500. At the time of writing, BTC/USD is changing hands at $9,179, mostly unchanged from Friday on the previous week. 

It was the drop in the dollar and mixed sentiment in stocks that sent gold to an 8.6-year high this week. Recently when the coronavirus pandemic situation gets worse then the US dollar gets strong but this seems to be a more localised problem for the US.