Dollar eases as risk sentiment improves, China moves to support yuan

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (BNA): The safe-haven dollar drifted lower in Asia on Wednesday as gains for European equity futures pointed to improved risk appetite despite fresh signs of the Chinese economy’s struggles.

 

Dollar selling by state-owned Chinese banks helped the yuan rally off a one-month low even as the country slipped into deflation, dealers said. The Chinese central bank’s stronger-than-expected exchange-rate fixing at 7.1588 per dollar before the open signalled its discomfort with the yuan’s recent declines.

 

That also supported the Australian and New Zealand dollars, which climbed off multi-month lows, Reuters reported.

 

The U.S. dollar index – which measures the currency against the euro, sterling and four other counterparts – eased 0.15% to 102.37 in the Asian afternoon, paring some of its 0.47% rise from the previous session.

 

The euro added 0.2% to $1.09745, while sterling gained 0.14% to $1.2766.

 

 

ZH