News: FOREX-Global growth concerns boost safe haven yen, Swiss franc

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    • New Zealand central bank cuts rates to record low
    • India, Thailand's central banks also cut rates
    • Safe havens in demand on global growth concerns

    (Adds German data, dollar index, updates prices)

    The Japanese yen rose to an eight-month high against the dollar on Wednesday and the Swiss franc gained as worries over flagging international growth sent investors to safe-haven currencies.

    Fears about the global economic slowdown are rising even as central banks adopt increasingly dovish policies.

    The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut its official cash rate more than expected to a record low of 1% on Wednesday and flagged the possibility of using negative rates to stimulate the economy, sending its currency to 3-1/2 year lows.

    The Reserve Bank of India and the Bank of Thailand also cut rates. “You’ve seen a couple of central banks ease policy today, some by more than expected, and you’re still seeing a more cautious market backdrop,” said Erik Nelson, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York.

    “I think there may still be some lingering concern over how much this easing will really support the global economy, or just maybe the idea of monetary policy impotence is on investors’ minds here,” Nelson said.

    The New Zealand dollar was last down 0.92% at $0.6463 NZD= , bouncing off the session low of $0.6379. The greenback fell 0.47% against the yen to 105.94 after earlier dropping as far as 105.51, the weakest since Jan. 3. The dollar dropped 0.37% against the Swiss franc CHF= to 0.9727.

    Disappointing German data on Wednesday added to the economic malaise. German industrial output fell more than expected in June driven by weaker production of intermediate and capital goods.

    The escalating U.S.-China trade war is adding to economic headwinds and hurting business sentiment. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose more tariffs on Chinese goods.

    On Monday, China responded by allowing its currency to weaken past 7 per dollar for the first time since 2008, and Washington labeled Beijing a currency manipulator.

    The yuan weakened on Wednesday, but held above an 11-year low reached the previous session, before Beijing appeared to take steps to stabilize the currency.

    The dollar gained 0.39% against the offshore yuan CNH= to 7.0814. The dollar index against a basket of currencies dipped slightly as Treasury yields dropped, with 30-year yields approaching record lows.

    The index .DXY was last down 0.10% at 97.532.

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    	Currency bid prices at 2:40PM (1840 GMT) 
    
     Description	  RIC		 Last		   U.S. Close  Pct Change	 YTD Pct	 High Bid	Low Bid 
    											  Previous				   Change				  
    											  Session											
     Euro/Dollar	  EUR=		$1.1217		$1.1198	 +0.17%		 -2.20%	  +1.1241	 +1.1180 
     Dollar/Yen	   JPY=		105.9400	   106.4700	-0.47%		 -3.92%	  +106.4700   +105.5100 
     Euro/Yen		 EURJPY=	 118.86		 119.22	  -0.30%		 -5.83%	  +119.2800   +118.4600 
     Dollar/Swiss	 CHF=		0.9727		 0.9763	  -0.37%		 -0.89%	  +0.9797	 +0.9693 
     Sterling/Dollar  GBP=		1.2148		 1.2166	  -0.15%		 -4.77%	  +1.2190	 +1.2122 
     Dollar/Canadian  CAD=		1.3316		 1.3278	  +0.29%		 -2.35%	  +1.3344	 +1.3269 
     Australian/Doll  AUD=		0.6767		 0.6760	  +0.13%		 -4.00%	  +0.6782	 +0.6678 
     ar																							  
    
     Euro/Swiss	   EURCHF=	 1.0914		 1.0933	  -0.17%		 -3.02%	  +1.0959	 +1.0894 
     Euro/Sterling	EURGBP=	 0.9232		 0.9200	  +0.35%		 +2.76%	  +0.9248	 +0.9189 
     NZ			   NZD=		0.6463		 0.6523	  -0.92%		 -3.77%	  +0.6557	 +0.6379 
     Dollar/Dollar																				   
    
     Dollar/Norway	NOK=		8.9598		 8.9046	  +0.62%		 +3.72%	  +8.9853	 +8.8888 
     Euro/Norway	  EURNOK=	 10.0500		9.9730	  +0.77%		 +1.45%	  +10.0965	+9.9613 
     Dollar/Sweden	SEK=		9.6244		 9.5824	  +0.57%		 +7.37%	  +9.6442	 +9.5643 
     Euro/Sweden	  EURSEK=	 10.7991		10.7377	 +0.57%		 +5.21%	  +10.8356	+10.7253                    
 
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