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FOREX-Oil-exporter currencies and safe havens gain after Saudi attacks

Published 16/09/2019, 11:56
FOREX-Oil-exporter currencies and safe havens gain after Saudi attacks
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* Norway's crown, Canadian dollar gain

* Oil importers Turkey, India see currencies weaken

* China's industrial output slows, yuan falls

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

(Adds details, new quote, updates prices)

By Tommy Wilkes

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Currencies linked to the price

of oil rose on Monday after an attack on Saudi Arabian refining

facilities disrupted global oil supplies, while the Japanese yen

and Swiss franc strengthened as nervous investors sought safety.

Oil prices surged nearly a fifth following the strikes,

which knocked out more than 5% of global oil production. Yemen's

Iran-aligned Houthi group claimed responsibility, but the United

States blamed Iran. President Donald Trump said Washington was

"locked and loaded" to retaliate. The Norwegian crown surged to 8.9215 per dollar and then

settled at 8.9695 crowns NOK=D3 , up 0.2% on the day. It was

last 0.3% ahead versus the euro EURNOK=D3 .

The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.3264 CAD=D3 after

earlier reaching C$1.3208. The Russian rouble RUB= was 0.5%

higher.

The currencies of oil importers such as Turkey TRY= and

India INR= weakened.

Overall, the forex market reaction was limited. A bigger

concern was that a supply-side shock and growing geopolitical

tensions would damage an already fragile global economy, MUFG

analyst Lee Hardman said.

"Downside risks for the global economy would intensify if

geopolitical risks in the region continued to escalate, creating

a more unfavourable environment for high beta emerging market

and high yielding currencies," he said.

The Japanese yen, a common choice for investors seeking

shelter from market uncertainty, rose 0.4% to 107.71 yen per

dollar JPY=EBS . The Swiss franc gained versus the euro but was

only up 0.2% at 1.0946 EURCHF=EBS .

The U.S. dollar recovered earlier losses and added 0.1%

against a basket of currencies .DXY , with its index touching

98.343.

Speculators have trimmed their bullish bets on the dollar,

the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

showed.

The euro dipped 0.2% to $1.1049 EUR=EBS .

CHINA WEAKNESS

In China, data released on Monday showed industrial output

grew in August at its slowest pace in more than 17 years and

retail sales rose less than expected That added to

pressure for stimulus, and in offshore trade the Chinese yuan

CNH=EBS weakened 0.3% to 7.0653 per dollar.

The market focus on Monday was the Middle East, but

attention will also remain on central bank meetings in the

United States and Japan, which follow the European Central

Bank's stimulus package announced last week.

Investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates on

Wednesday FEDWATCH and will be looking for signals on further

easing. A third of economists polled by Reuters expect the Bank

of Japan to announce ramped-up stimulus on Thursday.

Japanese markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday.

Marshall Gittler, a strategist at ACLS Global, said the

latest positioning data showed long positions on the yen had

risen, probably because investors are betting on a worsening in

the U.S.-China trade dispute despite easing tensions recently.

"JPY longs are getting to be relatively high, although not

dangerously so. Nonetheless, there's plenty of room for them to

be cut back further if U.S.-China trade tensions relax somewhat,

as seems likely," Gittler said.

Sterling, which has soared over the past week on growing

investor confidence that a no-deal Brexit is off the table, fell

back from a two-month high to $1.2446 GBP=D3 , down 0.5% on the

day. It fell 0.3% against the euro to 88.78 pence EURGBP=D3 .

(Editing by Larry King)

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