MW: Dollar slides against yen as weak China data spur safe-haven demand
The dollar slumped against the yen on Tuesday, as a fresh bout of weakness in global stock markets following weak Chinese data sent investors scurrying to the perceived safety of the Japanese currency.
The greenback USDJPY, -0.97% fetched ÂĄ119.59, down from ÂĄ121.22 late Monday in New York.
The ICE Dollar index DXY, -0.36% a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, dropped 0.3% to 95.50, for a second straight day in the red.
Stocks across Asia closed firmly lower, while European equities and U.S. stock futures were mired in the red on Tuesday, after lackluster manufacturing data from China underscored concerns over growth in the world’s second largest economy. The Caixin China manufacturing purchasing managers index, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, in August hit its lowest point in more than six years and the official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to a three-year low.
In other currencies, the resource-related, risk-sensitive Australian dollar AUDUSD, -0.5764% gained traction before stabilizing after the country’s central bank left its interest rates unchanged, as expected.
The Australian dollar exchanged hands at 70.74 U.S. cents, down from 71.12 U.S. cents on Monday. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash-rate target at 2%, where it has been since May.
The euro EURUSD, +0.5441% was higher against most major currencies, trading at $1.1265, up from $1.1212 on Monday.
The pound GBPUSD, +0.0521% shaved off an earlier advance and dropped against the dollar to $1.5340 from $1.5345 after U.K. August manufacturing PMI missed analyst forecasts.
