CORRECTED-FOREX-Yen supported, yuan frail on coronavirus concerns

(Corrects the Australian dollar's milestone to six-week lows,
not 10-week lows, in fifth paragraph)
* Yuan, Aussie under pressure as investors assess health
threat
* 2002-3 SARS epidemic didn't have lasting market impact
-analysts
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The yen was supported while the
yuan was on the back foot on Wednesday as investors tried to
assess the risk of the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China
disrupting the country's economy and trade partners.
The virus, which causes a type of pneumonia, has spread to
cities including Beijing and Shanghai as the number of patients
in China more than tripled. More cases were also reported
outside China, including the United States. Against the yen, the U.S. dollar slipped to 109.86 yen
JPY= from Tuesday's high of 110.23.
The offshore yuan lost 0.6% on Tuesday, its biggest fall in
more than a month, and last stood at 6.9100 yuan per dollar
CNH= .
The Australian dollar, often used as a proxy bet on the
Chinese economy, fetched $0.6844 AUD=D4 , near its lowest
levels in six weeks.
News of the coronavirus evoked memories of the 2002/03
outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which
killed nearly 800 people globally and led to a sharp downturn in
tourism in Asia.
"The obvious comparison people are making is with the SARS.
While we still don't know how lethal the new virus will be, my
sense at the moment is that markets are not taking it as dire as
SARS," said Kyosuke Suzuki, director of currencies at Societe
Generale in Tokyo.
"Back then, virtually every company was banning travel to
Hong Kong. We haven't seen that kind of reaction yet," he said.
Tohru Sasaki, head of Japan market research at JPMorgan,
said that while the SARS outbreak caused massive economic
downturn in Hong Kong and Singapore for about eight weeks
through a drop in tourism, the pandemic had limited impact on
supply chains in Asia.
"If the latest virus reaches a similar magnitude, some
economies such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia could be
negatively affected by a drop in tourism. But its long-term
impact on the global economy and the currency market will be
limited," he said.
The euro stood at $1.1083 EUR= , after dipping slightly on
Monday.
Sterling traded at $1.3050 GBP=D4 , having gained a tad on
Tuesday after data showed the British economy created jobs at
its strongest rate in nearly a year in the three months to
November. The strong data slightly dented expectations of an interest
rate cut by the Bank of England at the end of this month, though
markets are still pricing in about a 60% chance of a 0.25
percentage point cut.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As virus spreads to more Chinese cities, WHO calls emergency
meeting state man who traveled to China is first U.S. victim
of coronavirus jobs boom returns as Bank of England considers rate cut
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>