* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied on Thursday as
risk sentiment rose after resilient Chinese trade data and as
Beijing's efforts to slow a slide in the value of the renminbi
encouraged investors to buy riskier currencies.
Data showed Chinese exports rose 3.3% in July from a year
earlier, while analysts had looked for a fall of 2%.
Policymakers meanwhile fixed the daily value of the yuan at a
firmer level than many had expected, even though it was beyond
the 7 per dollar level for the first time since the global
financial crisis. CNY/ Against a basket of currencies .DXY the dollar was broadly
steady at 97.58, but it weakened 0.1% versus the Australian
dollar AUD=D3 and the British pound GBP=D3 .
"The recent comments from Chinese officials suggest they
want to stabilise their currency, otherwise a sharp currency
drop may fuel capital outflows," said Manuel Oliveri, an FX
strategist at Credit Agricole in London.
"The other factor helping risk sentiment is a growing swathe
of central bank cuts."
Those rate cuts have helped soothe sentiment this week among
investors anxious about the downside risks to the global economy
from a trade conflict between Washington and Beijing.
This week, New Zealand joined India and Thailand in cutting
interest rates, with market expectations growing that other
major central banks will join in with monetary policy easing.
Indeed, market expectations for more than a quarter point
rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve in September is still
firmly baked into bond markets, despite an overnight bounce in
global markets.
Those expectations forced the dollar to weaken also against
the euro and the yen.
The yen JPY= was a tad firmer at 106.185 per dollar. It
touched 105.500 yen overnight, its strongest level since Jan. 3,
before pulling back slightly.
"The yen's appreciation versus the dollar may have slowed
for now, but it stands to keep gaining in the longer term," said
Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in
Tokyo. "Its other peers, notably the antipodean currencies, have
weakened severely and this provides overall support to the yen."
The kiwi NZD=D3 nudged up 0.1% to $0.6452, following a
slide to a 3-1/2 year low of $0.6378 on Wednesday after the rate
cut.
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