Yahoo Finance Forex – Dollar Slides Against Yen Despite Bullish Data
Investing.com – The dollar headed lower in Asia on Thursday morning despite bullish GDP data as the anti-risk yen was sent higher by the rising geopolitical tensions. As Japan is a net creditor nation, the yen is regarded a safe-haven currency in times of uncertainty.
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies last stood at 89.66 at 11:00PM ET (03:00 GMT), down 0.11%, testing the 90 level and recovering from a one-month low at 88.59 on Tuesday.
The U.S. GDP grew at a 2.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter, beating the estimated 2.5%.
North Korea’s diplomatic moves were in focus this week. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un looked forward to meeting with him. The U.S.-North Korea summit will be held in May.
The USD/JPY pair shed 0.21% to 106.62. The pair traded above the 106 level the first time this week after hitting a new low at 104.60 on Tuesday.
Japanese media reported that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is seeking talks with Japan and the meetings may be held after the summit with the U.S.
Investors also await the Tokyo core CPI data and February’s industrial production data on Friday.
In China, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the fix rate of yuan against the dollar at 6.3046 versus the previous day’s 6.2785. The USD/CNY pair lost 0.06% to 6.2941.
China confirmed that Kim visited China and met with president Xi Jinping on Wednesday. Kim said he was willing to give up nuclear weapons.
Elsewhere, the AUD/USD pair traded at 0.7657, down 0.07%. On Thursday morning the pair fell to 0.7645 in Asia – the lowest level since December 18. The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its rate decision next week, but the Bank hinted before it is in not rush to to hike rates. Analysts expect the rate to stay at 1.50%.
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