- Japanese yen falls to two week low
- Dollar index up, investors focus on U.S. non-farm payrolls
- Chinese yuan rises to five-month high vs dollar
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Adds new comment, updates prices)
The safe-haven yen fell to two-week lows against the dollar on Thursday as the United States and Iran moved away from an all-out conflict, prompting investors to take on more risky assets and focus more on an upcoming U.S.-China trade deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump responded to an Iranian attack on U.S. forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no immediate signal it would retaliate further against a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike that killed its senior military commander.
The yen, seen as a safe haven in times of geopolitical turmoil because of its deep liquidity and Japan's current account surplus, reversed the gains it made against the dollar after Iran's missile strike. The dollar was last up 0.3% at 109.48 yen JPY= , after earlier hitting 109.57 yen, its highest since Dec. 27.
"Markets are taking comfort from a cooling in U.S.-Iran tensions after conciliatory words from President Trump," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington. "The Mideast crisis going from a boil to a simmer allowed bullish U.S. fundamentals to return to the surface."
Gold prices also slid, retreating further from a near-seven-year peak scaled in the previous session.
Implied volatility gauges for euro/dollar are falling back toward late 2019 lows, which is "very telling," according to Reuters analysts.
Three-month implied volatility in euro/dollar fell to 4.27% at the end of November, its lowest level on record.
Focus is expected to shift back to the global economy, with expectations the United States and China will sign a trade deal next week providing underlying support for risk assets.
China's Vice Premier Liu He, head of the country's negotiation team in the Sino-U.S. trade talks will visit Washington on Jan. 13-15, Gao Feng, spokesman at the commerce ministry said.
Investors think the deal will clear one of the world economy's biggest uncertainties and help boost global growth this year, although some think that view is too optimistic.
Market participants are also looking ahead to Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls report, with forecasts of 164,000 new jobs in December, from 266,000 the previous month.
In other currencies, China's yuan rose to a five-month high of 6.9175 against the dollar overnight in the offshore market CNH=EBS , boosted by a steady inflation readout.
In midday trading, the dollar index was 0.2% higher on the day at 97.458 .DXY . The Swiss franc though remained slightly elevated against the dollar, which slipped 0.2% to 0.9721 CHF= .
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 12:14PM (1714 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1106 $1.1103 +0.03% -0.93% +1.1120 +1.1094 Dollar/Yen JPY= 109.4500 109.1200 +0.30% +0.54% +109.5700 +109.0200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 121.58 121.17 +0.34% -0.30% +121.6900 +121.1400 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9719 0.9737 -0.18% +0.42% +0.9747 +0.9712 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3062 1.3097 -0.27% -1.49% +1.3124 +1.3014 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3090 1.3037 +0.41% +0.80% +1.3104 +1.3026 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6853 0.6865 -0.17% -2.39% +0.6880 +0.6851 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0798 1.0813 -0.14% -0.50% +1.0833 +1.0796 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8501 0.8478 +0.27% +0.56% +0.8533 +0.8472 NZ NZD= 0.6608 0.6646 -0.57% -1.90% +0.6658 +0.6601 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 8.8766 8.8683 +0.09% +1.11% +8.9024 +8.8550 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8601 9.8523 +0.08% +0.23% +9.8854 +9.8397 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.4873 9.4593 +0.32% +1.50% +9.5007 +9.4444 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.5395 10.5060 +0.32% +0.67% +10.5471 +10.4969
