* Trump says U.S.-China trade deal might have to wait for
election
* Dollar whacked vs yen, Swiss franc by trade tensions
* Yuan hits weakest since late October
* Trump impeachment moves gather pace this week
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Recasts, adds new comment, FX table, updates prices, changes
byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The safe-haven yen and Swiss
franc rallied against the dollar on Tuesday as risk appetite
eased after U.S. President Donald Trump said a trade deal with
China might have to wait until after the 2020 U.S. presidential
election.
China's offshore yuan fell to its weakest versus the dollar
since October after Trump's comments.
The surprise statement hit the U.S. dollar broadly as
investors dumped the currency, which has tended to rise when
optimism over a trade deal has grown. Market participants have
long been waiting for a final trade deal, especially as both
countries appeared to be nearing a preliminary one. Trump said he had no deadline on agreement with Beijing,
sparking a selloff in equities. The news came after Trump on Monday said his administration
would impose tariffs on metal imports from Argentina and Brazil
on Monday and likely would impose more on a range of French
goods.
"Markets have been jostled around with Trump's newfound
affinity for trade tariffs," said Mazen Issa, senior FX
strategist at TD Securities in New York.
"In the last 24 hours, he has ignited tensions with Brazil,
Argentina, France and China. Nonetheless, risk sentiment has
absorbed the latest developments," he added.
Analysts pointed out though that Trump's missives on trade
came at a time when impeachment developments will come into more
focus this week. Trump has been accused of improperly pressuring
Ukraine to probe former vice president Joe Biden, a political
rival in the 2020 presidential election.
The Democratic-controlled House Intelligence Committee is
scheduled to vote on its findings later on Tuesday. The matter
will then go to the House Judiciary Committee, which will launch
its proceedings on Wednesday. "It is perhaps not a coincidence that Trump may be trying to
disrupt the news cycle," TD's Issa said.
In mid-morning trading, the dollar fell 0.3% against the yen
to 108.60 yen JPY= . Against the Swiss franc, the dollar also
slid, down 0.4% at 0.98752 franc CHF= .
The dollar index slipped 0.1% overall to 97.743 .DXY
China's offshore yuan was a big casualty as well, with the
with the dollar rising 0.4 percent to 7.0695 yuan CNH=EBS , its
highest since late October.
Moves in currency markets though were broadly contained,
with volatility remaining low and investors not appearing to
take much fright.
Of concern for the dollar's fortunes, however, was Monday's
weak U.S. manufacturing report.
The U.S. Institute for Supply Management said its index of
national factory activity fell to a below-forecast 48.1 in
November. Separate data showed construction spending declined in
October.
The readings surprised economists who had recently raised
U.S. growth forecasts for the fourth quarter.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 9:55 AM (1455 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1082 $1.1077 +0.05% -3.37% +1.1087 +1.1066
Dollar/Yen JPY= 108.6100 108.9800 -0.34% -1.48% +109.2000 +108.5600
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 120.39 120.72 -0.27% -4.62% +120.9600 +120.3200
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9867 0.9911 -0.44% +0.54% +0.9926 +0.9867
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2998 1.2936 +0.48% +1.89% +1.3009 +1.2931
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3310 1.3308 +0.02% -2.40% +1.3321 +1.3283
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6837 0.6817 +0.29% -3.01% +0.6862 +0.6815
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0937 1.0982 -0.41% -2.82% +1.0993 +1.0936
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8527 0.8559 -0.37% -5.09% +0.8565 +0.8513
NZ NZD= 0.6515 0.6501 +0.22% -3.01% +0.6533 +0.6494
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.1872 9.1638 +0.26% +6.35% +9.1915 +9.1361
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.1835 10.1529 +0.30% +2.80% +10.1863 +10.1238
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.5363 9.5405 +0.02% +6.39% +9.5517 +9.4938
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.5707 10.5681 +0.02% +2.99% +10.5760 +10.5220
U.S. dollar vs offshore Chinese yuan https://tmsnrt.rs/2P9oKW1
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