* Japanese yen falls to week-and-a-half low
* Dollar, Swiss franc down as well
* Chinese yuan rises to five-month high vs dollar
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Adds new comment, FX table, updates prices, changes byline,
dateline; previous LONDON)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The safe-haven yen fell to a
more than a one-week low against the dollar on Thursday as the
United States and Iran moved away from an all-out conflict,
prompting investors to take on more risky assets and focus more
on an upcoming U.S.-China trade deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump responded to an Iranian attack
on U.S. forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran offered no
immediate signal it would retaliate further against a Jan. 3
U.S. drone strike that killed its senior military commander.
The yen, seen as a safe haven in times of geopolitical
turmoil because of its deep liquidity and Japan's current
account surplus, reversed the gains it made against the dollar
after Iran's missile strike. The dollar was last up 0.2% at
109.39 yen JPY= , after earlier hitting 109.48 yen, its highest
since Dec. 30.
"Trump completely downplayed the idea of going to war with
Iran or even any sort of retaliatory measures," said Brad
Bechtel, managing director, Jefferies in New York.
"His decision to take the higher ground and ease the
emotions around the tit for tat have ... acted to soothe markets
and the bid tone to risk assets returned immediately," he added.
Gold prices also slid, retreating further from a
near-seven-year peak scaled in the previous session.
Implied volatility gauges for euro/dollar are falling back
toward late 2019 lows, which is "very telling," according to
Reuters analysts.
Three-month implied volatility in euro/dollar fell to 4.27%
at the end of November, its lowest level on record.
Focus is expected to shift back to the global economy, with
expectations that the United States and China will sign a trade
deal next week providing underlying support for risk assets.
China's Vice Premier Liu He, head of the country's
negotiation team in the Sino-U.S. trade talks will visit
Washington on Jan. 13-15, Gao Feng, spokesman at the commerce
ministry said. Negotiating teams from both sides remain in close
communication on the particular arrangements of the signing, Gao
told reporters at a regular briefing. Investors think the deal will clear one of the world
economy's biggest uncertainties and help boost global growth
this year, although some think that view is too optimistic.
China's yuan rose to a five-month high of 6.9175 against the
dollar overnight in the offshore market CNH=EBS , boosted also
by a steady inflation readout.
In early morning trading, the dollar index was higher on the
day, up 0.1% at 97.428 .DXY .
The Swiss franc though remained elevated against the dollar,
which fell 0.2% to 0.9722 CHF= .
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 8:37 AM (1337 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1111 $1.1103 +0.07% -0.88% +1.1120 +1.1097
Dollar/Yen JPY= 109.3700 109.1200 +0.23% +0.47% +109.4800 +109.0200
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 121.55 121.17 +0.31% -0.33% +121.6300 +121.1400
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9720 0.9737 -0.17% +0.43% +0.9747 +0.9720
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3039 1.3097 -0.44% -1.66% +1.3124 +1.3014
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3056 1.3037 +0.15% +0.54% +1.3059 +1.3026
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6863 0.6865 -0.03% -2.25% +0.6880 +0.6855
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0800 1.0813 -0.12% -0.48% +1.0833 +1.0801
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8519 0.8478 +0.48% +0.77% +0.8533 +0.8472
NZ NZD= 0.6616 0.6646 -0.45% -1.78% +0.6658 +0.6611
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.8699 8.8683 +0.02% +1.04% +8.9024 +8.8550
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8556 9.8523 +0.03% +0.18% +9.8854 +9.8397
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.4709 9.4593 +0.17% +1.32% +9.4953 +9.4444
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.5238 10.5060 +0.17% +0.52% +10.5430 +10.4969