By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Asian currencies caught a
boost from better-than-expected Chinese economic data on
Wednesday, driving the yuan to a one-week high and putting a
dampener on the U.S. dollar.
A blast at a Gaza hospital, however, kept moves modest and
traders on edge at the prospect of a widening conflict. U.S.
President Joe Biden is due to visit Israel on Wednesday. The
shekel was pinned to the weaker side of 4 to the
dollar.
Official data showed China's economy grew 1.3% in the third
quarter, accelerating from 0.5% in the previous quarter and
topping market forecasts for an increase of 1%. Industrial
output rose and unemployment fell.
"It pretty much means the growth target for this year of
around 5% will be achieved, maybe slightly above," said UOB
economist Woei Chen Ho in Singapore.
The yuan and trade-dependent Australian and New Zealand
dollars all bounced. The Aussie was last up 0.2% at
$0.6378. The kiwi rose by the same margin to $0.5909.
The yuan hit a one-week high of 7.2905 per
dollar, though it then retreated to 7.306.
On Tuesday, U.S. yields had shot sharply higher after data
showed retail sales increased strongly, which had helped the
dollar pile pressure on the low-yielding Japanese yen.
The yen was last at 149.68 to the dollar and was
squeezed, as the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced $2 billion
in bond-buying to keep downward pressure on yields.
Elsewhere the dollar struggled to gain, which some analysts
suggested could point to a loss of momentum.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has climbed
about 100 basis points since mid July, and the dollar index
is up 7% in the same period.
"It's had a really good run and it's stalled a bit," said
Westpac analyst Imre Speizer. "Maybe it's hitting the limits of
this stage of the rally, and needs a bit of a correction."
The euro gained 0.1% overnight and was steady at
$1.0574 in Asia. Sterling held at $1.2170.
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Currency bid prices at 0516 GMT
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar
$1.0579 $1.0576 +0.02% +0.00% +1.0579 +1.0561
Dollar/Yen
149.6600 149.7900 -0.08% +0.00% +149.7900 +149.5500
Euro/Yen 158.34 158.44 -0.06% +0.00% +158.4500 +158.1500
Dollar/Swiss
0.8989 0.9005 -0.16% +0.00% +0.9009 +0.8988
Sterling/Dollar
1.2182 1.2184 -0.01% +0.00% +1.2184 +1.2160
Dollar/Canadian
1.3634 1.3648 -0.10% +0.00% +1.3658 +1.3632
Aussie/Dollar
0.6380 0.6366 +0.21% +0.00% +0.6382 +0.6352
NZ
Dollar/Dollar 0.5907 0.5897 +0.17% +0.00% +0.5911 +0.5880
All spots
Tokyo spots
Europe spots
Volatilities
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook;
Editing by Shri Navaratnam)