* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Tracking the coronavirus https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7
* China virus uncertainty weighs on markets
* Euro takes a hit before GDP data
* Sterling sees positives in cabinet reshuffle
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Japanese yen held gains
against the dollar on Friday, as fresh doubts about the scale of
the coronavirus outbreak supported demand for safe-haven
currencies.
The Chinese yuan nursed losses as the flu-like virus, which
emerged late last year in China's central Hubei province, cast a
deeper shadow over the economic outlook.
The euro languished at multi-year lows versus the dollar and
the Swiss franc as investors grow more pessimistic about the
outlook in the common currency bloc before the release of gross
domestic product data later on Friday.
In contrast, the pound rode a wave of optimism on hopes that
a British cabinet reshuffle will lead to more expansionary
fiscal policy to support growth.
Officials in Hubei rattled financial markets on Thursday by
announcing a sharp increase in new infections and deaths from
the coronavirus, reflecting the adoption of a new method to
diagnose the illness. Uncertainty about the real extent of the epidemic is likely
to discourage investors from taking on excessive risk until
there is sufficient evidence that its spread has slowed.
"There is a return of risk aversion, so yen and other
safe-haven assets have risen, but reaction so far has been
temporary and limited," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency
strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
"The change of reporting standards in China is a concern.
There is a fear that China is still hiding something."
The yen JPY=EBS edged up to 109.80 per dollar in Asia on
Friday, following a 0.25% gain the previous session.
In the onshore market, the yuan CNY=CFXS slipped 0.06% to
6.9818 per dollar, while its offshore counterpart CNH=D3 eased
slightly to 6.9853, following a 0.2% decline on Thursday.
Hubei officials on Friday reported 4,823 new cases and 116
new deaths as of Feb. 13, but investors were still reeling after
the province reported 14,840 new cases and a record daily
increase in deaths on Thursday, using new diagnostic methods to
reclassify a backlog of cases. China's economy will grow at its slowest rate since the
financial crisis in the current quarter, according to a Reuters
poll of economists who said the downturn will be short-lived if
the outbreak is contained. The coronavirus was first detected in Hubei's capital Wuhan
and has so far claimed more than 1,300 lives in China and spread
to 24 other countries.
The euro EUR=EBS fell 0.1% to $1.0834, the lowest since
April 2017, as investors braced for the release of GDP data from
Germany and the euro zone later on Friday.
The single currency EURCHF=EBS was quoted at 1.0619 Swiss
francs, close to the lowest since August 2015. The euro
EURGBP=D3 eased slightly to 83.07 pence, close to the weakest
since December.
Sentiment for the euro worsened after data earlier this weak
showing a plunge in euro zone manufacturing output reinforced
expectations that monetary policy will remain accommodative.
The pound GBP=D3 was little changed at $1.3046 following a
0.64% gain on Thursday due to expectations that British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson's appointment of a new finance minister
will lead to more fiscal spending to help Britain weather its
transition away from the European Union.
(Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sam Holmes)