* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The dollar recovered from earlier
lows as weak economic data and concern about whether Beijing and
Washington will reach a trade deal burnished its appeal as a
safe haven.
Demand for safe-haven assets also helped the yen and the
Swiss franc, but the dollar's rebound was more pronounced after
it faltered in late Asian trading.
A dollar index measuring it against six other currencies
.DXY rose 0.05% to 98.424, just shy of a one-month high of
98.447 tested overnight. It was down as much as 0.1% earlier.
The dollar generally gains towards the end of the year as
investors wind down trading, and demand has been strengthened
this year by higher interest rates and stronger economic growth
in the United States.
Optimism for an economic recovery and a rebound in global
trade is not yet strong enough for other currencies to start
outperforming the dollar, said Brad Bechtel, a managing director
at Jefferies.
"This fits well with the narrative that seasonality, carry
and a benign macro backdrop should keep the dollar stabilised,"
Bechtel said.
China's factory output growth slowed more than expected in
October, Japan's economy ground to a standstill in the third
quarter and the German economy only narrowly avoided a recession
in the third quarter. The dollar's strength was particularly evident against
trade-oriented currencies, such as the euro and the pound,
against which it gained about 0.2%.
It was also evident against emerging-market currencies,
where a JP Morgan index fell to a near-decade low.
AUSSIE TANKS
The Australian dollar led losers after weak domestic jobs
data raised concern that the central bank might have to loosen
policy again in 2020. It was down more than half a percentage
point to its lowest since mid-October at $0.6798 AUD=D4 .
"Increasing signs of unrest in Hong Kong and Latin America
coupled with the uncertainty around the trade talks is keeping
the risk-off sentiment well and alive in FX markets," said Lee
Hardman, a London-based currency strategist at MUFG.
U.S.-China trade negotiations have "hit a snag" over farm
purchases, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing
people familiar with the matter. Swiss franc gains have outpaced those by the yen, on bets
that the Swiss National Bank has stepped back from its currency
interventions. It was trading at 1.0880 per euro EURCHF= , just
below Wednesday's 1.0879.
EM index https://tmsnrt.rs/34VpMeC
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