NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar dipped on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the possibility of delaying the nation's November presidential election, and it is on track for its worst monthly performance in a decade as the spread of the coronavirus continues to weigh on the U.S. economy.

Trump repeated claims of mail-in voter fraud, writing on Twitter "delay the election until people can properly, securely and safely vote".

The comments reversed an earlier dollar bounce.

“Any form of U.S. uncertainty, whether economics or politics, is an excuse to hit the sell button for the U.S. dollar,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington.

The greenback has been in a month-long nosedive as the continued spread of coronavirus across U.S. states weighs on the economy.

Data on Thursday showed that the U.S. economy contracted by 32.9% in the second quarter, the steepest pace since the Great Depression. In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits totalled 1.434 million in the week ending July 25.

“Claims are telling us that the recovery is already starting to tire,” said Manimbo.

The dollar index against a basket of currencies was last down 0.02% at 93.34. It is on track for a 4.17% decline this month, which would be the worst monthly performance since September 2010.

The euro set a new 22-month high of $1.1808, before dropping back to $1.1791, up 0.01% on the day.

The single currency was weighed down earlier on Thursday after data showed that the German economy contracted by a worse-than-expected 10.1% in the second quarter, its steepest plunge on record. 

Sterling gained 0.43% to $1.13051, its highest since March.

The British currency is likely poised for further strength as it catches up for pervious underperformance, said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. “I think sterling is in the middle of a historic advance.”

Currency bid prices at 10:10AM (1410 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid

Previous Change

Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1791 $1.1790 +0.01% +5.18% +1.1808 +1.1732 Dollar/Yen JPY= 105.1200 104.9100 +0.20% -3.44% +105.2900 +104.9100 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 123.98 123.70 +0.23% +1.66% +123.9900 +123.3400 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9117 0.9124 -0.08% -5.80% +0.9153 +0.9112 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3051 1.2995 +0.43% -1.57% +1.3062 +1.2946 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3442 1.3340 +0.76% +3.51% +1.3445 +1.3334 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7144 0.7186 -0.58% +1.75% +0.7190 +0.7129 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0751 1.0758 -0.07% -0.93% +1.0760 +1.0734 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9033 0.9071 -0.42% +6.85% +0.9081 +0.9021 NZ NZD= 0.6643 0.6667 -0.36% -1.38% +0.6673 +0.6621 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.1211 9.0292 +1.02% +3.90% +9.1407 +9.0292 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.7574 10.6427 +1.08% +9.35% +10.7655 +10.6384 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.7473 8.7141 +0.31% -6.42% +8.7915 +8.7114 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.3168 10.2853 +0.31% -1.46% +10.3270 +10.2760

(Editing by Nick Zieminski) ((karen.brettell@tr.com))