Markets expect Fed's Powell to clarify Fed minutes Euro PMIs...

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    • Markets expect Fed's Powell to clarify Fed minutes
    • Euro PMIs better than expected
    • Chinese yuan hits 11-year low vs dollar, fans trade worries
    • Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

    (New throughout, updates prices, market activity, FX table and comments; new byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)

    The dollar weakened on Thursday as investors braced for a possible announcement or statement from the Federal Reserve at this week's Jackson Hole, Wyoming event that would help address the worsening global economic outlook.

    Market participants expect the Fed announcement could be a stimulus measure, or an affirmation that the U.S. central bank is on a steady path to ease interest rates, a scenario viewed as negative for the dollar.

    Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak on Friday and expectations are building that he will clarify Fed minutes released on Wednesday and deliver a dovish speech that would soothe market worries about the prospect of recession.

    The Fed's latest minutes confirmed a growing view that U.S. policymakers are reluctant to begin a big rate-cutting cycle in the coming months, describing the July easing as a mid-cycle adjustment.

    The minutes showed policymakers were divided over whether to cut interest rates but united in wanting to signal they were set on more cuts.

    "Jackson Hole is going to provide an opportunity for the Fed to correct that communication mistake in the minutes," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.

    "With the rest of the world going negative in interest rates, the risk is for that scenario to happen in the U.S. and if we don't see the Fed become a little more aggressive through no fault of the U.S. economy, but more because of the rest of the world, they could see more pressure to deliver rate cuts," he added.

    In morning trading, the dollar slipped 0.1% against a basket of major currencies to 98.218 .DXY . The greenback also fell against the yen as well, down 0.2% at 106.37 yen JPY= , not far from last week's eight-month low around 105.05.

    The euro, meanwhile, edged higher against the dollar, up 0.1% at $1.1097, amid an uptick in euro zone business growth.

    Euro zone business growth picked up in August, as services expanded and manufacturing contracted at a slower pace. But trade war fears knocked future expectations to their weakest in over six years, a survey showed.

    "Though the eurozone PMI data was slightly better than expected, it is fairly gloomy stuff and there is some degree of concern among investors about the Chinese yuan's decline," said Neil Mellor, a senior FX strategist at BNY Mellon in London.

    Investors also sold Asian currencies after the Chinese yuan fell to an 11-year low against the dollar, indicating trade tension between the world's two biggest economies remained a major issue.

    In onshore trading, the yuan CNY=CFXS fell to 7.0752 per dollar, its weakest since March 2008, before recovering to 7.0732. In offshore trade, the dollar CNH=D3 rose 0.29% to 7.0872 yuan.

    	======================================================== 
    	Currency bid prices at 10:02 AM (1402 GMT) 
    
     Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
    											  Previous				   Change				  
    											  Session											
     Euro/Dollar	  EUR=		$1.1090		$1.1083	 +0.06%		 -3.30%	  +1.1112	 +1.1064 
     Dollar/Yen	   JPY=		106.3600	   106.6100	-0.23%		 -3.54%	  +106.6400   +106.2600 
     Euro/Yen		 EURJPY=	 117.98		 118.16	  -0.15%		 -6.53%	  +118.2900   +117.7400 
     Dollar/Swiss	 CHF=		0.9830		 0.9823	  +0.07%		 +0.14%	  +0.9844	 +0.9815 
     Sterling/Dollar  GBP=		1.2251		 1.2126	  +1.03%		 -3.97%	  +1.2265	 +1.2109 
     Dollar/Canadian  CAD=		1.3281		 1.3289	  -0.06%		 -2.61%	  +1.3315	 +1.3275 
     Australian/Doll  AUD=		0.6769		 0.6780	  -0.16%		 -3.97%	  +0.6787	 +0.6759 
     ar																							  
    
     Euro/Swiss	   EURCHF=	 1.0902		 1.0888	  +0.13%		 -3.13%	  +1.0919	 +1.0876 
     Euro/Sterling	EURGBP=	 0.9053		 0.9138	  -0.93%		 +0.77%	  +0.9157	 +0.9043 
     NZ			   NZD=		0.6383		 0.6402	  -0.30%		 -4.97%	  +0.6407	 +0.6372 
     Dollar/Dollar																				   
    
     Dollar/Norway	NOK=		8.9630		 8.9442	  +0.21%		 +3.75%	  +8.9826	 +8.9372 
     Euro/Norway	  EURNOK=	 9.9428		 9.9123	  +0.31%		 +0.36%	  +9.9550	 +9.9145 
     Dollar/Sweden	SEK=		9.6614		 9.6230	  +0.45%		 +7.78%	  +9.6838	 +9.5967 
     Euro/Sweden	  EURSEK=	 10.7177		10.6695	 +0.45%		 +4.42%	  +10.7323	+10.6568 
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    USD and trade weighted	http//tmsnrt.rs/2NlwRzH 
    
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