By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian currencies caught a boost from better-than-expected Chinese economic data on Wednesday, driving the yuan to a one-week high and putting a dampener on the U.S. dollar.
A blast at a Gaza hospital, however, kept moves modest and traders on edge at the prospect of a widening conflict. U.S. President Joe Biden is due to visit Israel on Wednesday. The shekel was pinned to the weaker side of 4 to the dollar.
Official data showed China’s economy grew 1.3% in the third quarter, accelerating from 0.5% in the previous quarter and topping market forecasts for an increase of 1%. Industrial output rose and unemployment fell.
“It pretty much means the growth target for this year of around 5% will be achieved, maybe slightly above,” said UOB economist Woei Chen Ho in Singapore.
The yuan and trade-dependent Australian and New Zealand dollars all bounced. The was last up 0.2% at $0.6378. The rose by the same margin to $0.5909.
The yuan hit a one-week high of 7.2905 per dollar, though it then retreated to 7.306.
On Tuesday, U.S. yields had shot sharply higher after data showed retail sales increased strongly, which had helped the dollar pile pressure on the low-yielding Japanese yen.
The yen was last at 149.68 to the dollar and was squeezed, as the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced $2 billion in bond-buying to keep downward pressure on yields.
Elsewhere the dollar struggled to gain, which some analysts suggested could point to a loss of momentum.
The benchmark has climbed about 100 basis points since mid July, and the is up 7% in the same period.
“It’s had a really good run and it’s stalled a bit,” said Westpac analyst Imre Speizer. “Maybe it’s hitting the limits of this stage of the rally, and needs a bit of a correction.”
The euro gained 0.1% overnight and was steady at $1.0574 in Asia. Sterling held at $1.2170.
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Currency bid prices at 0516 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar
$1.0579 $1.0576 +0.02% +0.00% +1.0579 +1.0561
Dollar/Yen
149.6600 149.7900 -0.08% +0.00% +149.7900 +149.5500
Euro/Yen
158.34 158.44 -0.06% +0.00% +158.4500 +158.1500
Dollar/Swiss
0.8989 0.9005 -0.16% +0.00% +0.9009 +0.8988
Sterling/Dollar
1.2182 1.2184 -0.01% +0.00% +1.2184 +1.2160
Dollar/Canadian
1.3634 1.3648 -0.10% +0.00% +1.3658 +1.3632
Aussie/Dollar
0.6380 0.6366 +0.21% +0.00% +0.6382 +0.6352
NZ
Dollar/Dollar 0.5907 0.5897 +0.17% +0.00% +0.5911 +0.5880
All spots
Tokyo spots
Europe spots
Volatilities
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ
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