The Chinese yuan is weakening against multiple currency rivals at the end of the trading week. The yuan’s slide is being driven by another escalation in the ongoing US-China trade spat. Expectations of bearish industrial profits and manufacturing data have also contributed to the currency’s latest dip.
The US dollar gained against its Australian and Canadian counterparts but otherwise was rather soft today. There were plenty of reasons for the dollar’s weakness: the outlook for interest rate cuts, escalation of the US-China trade war, and poor US housing data.
The Chinese yuan is weakening on Tuesday after the central bank introduced a new lending benchmark as part of the nation’s market-oriented reforms and attempts to weather the economic trade winds. Beijing joins a long list of other major markets that have recently imposed lower interest rates to boost lending and spur growth.
The Chinese yuan is having a mixed trading session against multiple currencies, driven by varied economic data. The biggest story for China was its July industrial production being worse than what the market had expected, though it was somewhat offset by soaring housing prices in the world’s second-largest economy. The yuan may not be able to strengthen against a basket of currencies until the trade war is finally over.
The Australian dollar fell today, joining its New Zealand peer in decline. While domestic macroeconomic data was good, it was not enough to outweigh the impact of disappointing economic indicators released in China, Australia’s biggest trading partner.
The Australian dollar fell today, dragged down by a range of fundamentals, including risk aversion and prospects for additional monetary easing. Macroeconomic data in China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, was mixed, giving no support to the Aussie. But the Australian currency was attempting to recover, and it even managed to gain on some of its rivals, including the US dollar.
The Japanese yen gained today as risk aversion returned to markets after new developments in the US-China trade conflict. Domestic macroeconomic data was also supportive of the currency.
The Chinese yuan is strengthening against most major currency rivals on Thursday after the federal government reported better-than-expected trade numbers. Despite the positive numbers, they could contribute to the escalation in the US-China dispute, mainly because exports surged and Beijing’s trade surplus came in better than what the market had anticipated.
The New Zealand dollar gained today against major currencies. One of the possible reasons for the gains was profit-taking after yesterday’s huge slump. Another one was positive data from China — the world’s second-largest economy and New Zealand’s biggest trading partner. The gains were limited, though, as central bank’s assistant governor suggested a possibility of another interest rate cut.
The Chinese yuan is stabilizing Tuesday after it cratered 2% against the US dollar to kick off the trading week. But the pause in yuan’s collapse might be temporary because the White House continues to apply pressure to the world’s second-largest economy, particularly as officials discuss labeling Beijing a currency manipulator. Investors will now look to China’s trade numbers on Wednesday.
