The dollar was in retreat in early European trade Friday, weighed by doubts about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery as the country struggles to curb the number of coronavirus cases. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was down 0.1% at 94.627, breaching the March low of 94.650 to reach levels not seen since late 2018, and on track for its worst week in a month. The U.S. reported its first rise in unemployment claims since March on Thursday, with 1.416 million Americans filing for unemployment claims over the last week. This came as some states rolled back reopenings because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There appears to be no sign that the coronavirus is stopping its relentless march across America. The U.S. on Thursday surpassed 4 million officially recorded Covid-19 cases, a quarter of which have come in just the last 15 days. Additionally, the next U.S. fiscal rescue package appears to be deadlocked in Congress while a month-end deadline looms as some unemployment benefits are due to expire. Helping limit the damage in the dollar Friday, and boosting the Japanese yen as a safe yen, was the continued friction between the globe’s two economic powers, the U.S. and China. Earlier Friday China ordered the United States to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu on Friday, responding to a U.S. demand this week that China close its Houston consulate.