Yen Gains on Risk Aversion, Pound Remains Higher after UK GDP Data

Monday,   11-Nov-2019   03:23 PM (IST)

The safe haven yen gained ground on Monday and the dollar dipped against the euro as fresh unrest in Hong Kong and mixed signals about the U.S.-China tariff rollback dampened risk sentiment. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has not agreed to rolling back the U.S. tariffs sought by China, contradicting earlier reports of officials from both countries confirming the rollbacks. Adding to the uncertainties, Trump over the weekend said talks with China were moving along "very nicely", but the U.S. would only make a deal if it was the right deal for America. The dollar was marginally weaker against the euro and Japanese yen, reflecting some investor caution that the deal could still unwind. The greenback stood at 1.1032 per euro by 04:38 AM ET (09:38 GMT) and at 108.98 yen. The Japanese currency was also underpinned by reports that Hong Kong police opened fire and hit at least one protester, a fresh escalation of violence as anti-government demonstrations enter their sixth month. The U.S. dollar index against a basket of six major currencies edged down to 98.11, pulling back from the three-and-a-half week high of 98.40 reached late Friday. The British pound remained higher against the greenback after data showing that the U.K. avoided a recession in the third quarter, with the economy growing 0.3% following a 0.2% contraction in the second quarter. But the economy did contract by 0.1% in September and annual growth was just 1.0% in the three months to September, the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2010.