* Bright data lifts Asian currencies, weighs on dollar
* AUD, NZD resilient as FX traders wait-and-see ahead of
election
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The dollar handed back some
recent gains against most of its major rivals on Tuesday, as
strong regional economic data helped to offset worries about a
second wave of COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States.
Profits at China's industrial firms rose for a fifth
straight month in September and South Korea's economy roared
back to growth, official data showed. That supported the yuan CNY= and sent the won KRW=
soaring close to a seven-month peak. It also unwound some of the
previous day's modest dollar gains against major currencies amid
an equities selloff driven by a resurgence in coronavirus
infections.
Against a basket of currencies the dollar fell 0.1% =USD .
It was lower by about the same margin on the euro, yen and pound
and it slipped a little bit further against the Aussie and kiwi.
AUD/
"Trade numbers in Asia have been improving. Most countries
are now reporting positive year-on-year export growth. For now,
that is helping to offset nervousness about the COVID outbreaks
in Europe," said ANZ's head of Asia research Khoon Goh.
"It's the export-oriented currencies that are outperforming
in Asia," he said. The Canadian dollar CAD=D3 also recovered
some of Monday's selloff as the price of oil stabilised.
Christopher Wong, senior FX strategist at Maybank in
Singapore, said the region's firm handle on the coronavirus,
especially in North Asia, was also a positive factor, with
Japan, Singapore, South Korea and China combined posting fewer
than a thousand new cases a day through October.
That compares with the United States, Russia and France, all
of which hit fresh records with tens of thousands of new daily
coronavirus infections this week.
Europe needs a "serious acceleration" in the fight against
the coronavirus, with the spectre of further shutdowns looming,
a top World Health Organization official said on Monday.
POSITION
Growing wariness about the U.S. presidential election kept a
lid on large currency movements, however. Since the vote is just
a week away many investors appear to have already figured out
their positions.
Data shows long bets on the yen shrank for a fourth straight
week last week, as investors wagered on a victory for Democrat
Joe Biden, though short bets against the yen also fell -
pointing to heightened uncertainty around the vote.
0#NETUSDFX=
"People are wary of putting on fresh positions given the
event risk," said Mayank Mishra, an FX strategist at Standard
Chartered Bank in Singapore. "Price action over the next one
week may remain choppy," he said.
"The view we've taken is that the medium-term dollar bearish
dynamics remain in place, irrespective of who comes to the White
House. The short-term part may be affected by the outcome, and
we believe that a Biden win is likely to accelerate the dollar
downside."
If the Democrats also secure the Senate, a Biden-led
administration is likely to press for a larger coronavirus aid
package, lifting sentiment, widening the U.S. current account
deficit and weakening the dollar.
Ahead on Tuesday, investors are looking to U.S. consumer
confidence figures and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index at
1400 GMT, as well as the progress of the virus in Europe and the
United States.
Elsewhere, the Taiwan dollar TWD=TP rose by as much as 1%
in Asia to a more than nine-year high. The Turkish lira
TRYTOM=D3 hit a record low on Monday amid a slew of
geopolitical concerns and as a surprise central bank decision to
keep its policy rate on hold last week reveberates through
markets. Currency bid prices at 12:25PM (425 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1824 $1.1810 +0.12% +5.47% +1.1825 +1.1805
Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 104.7300 104.8500 -0.09% -3.55% +104.8800 +104.7600
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 123.82 123.80 +0.02% +1.53% +123.9000 +123.7100
Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9067 0.9078 -0.12% -6.30% +0.9082 +0.9064
Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 1.3037 1.3022 +0.11% -1.71% +1.3039 +1.3016
Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.3181 1.3213 -0.24% +1.46% +1.3211 +1.3181
Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 0.7133 0.7123 +0.14% +1.66% +0.7137 +0.7116
NZ NZD=D3 0.6691 0.6678 +0.21% -0.55% +0.6693 +0.6675
Dollar/Dollar
All spots FX=
Tokyo spots AFX=
Europe spots EFX=
Volatilities FXVOL=
Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ TKYFX