* Iran fires missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq
* Japanese yen jumps to three-month high before retreating
* Focus on Trump's statement after Iran move
* U.S. ADP report shows private sector job gains in December
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Adds FX strategist's comment, updates prices)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The safe-haven yen slid from three-month highs against the dollar on
Wednesday, as U.S.-Iran tensions eased after President Donald Trump signaled there would be no further
military action, for now, with Tehran appearing to have pulled back from its threats.
Another safe haven, the Swiss franc, also fell. It had earlier touched a more than one-week peak
versus the greenback. Gold, which draws a bid in times of geopolitical stress, also gave up earlier gains,
as did crude oil.
Trump backed away on Wednesday from days of angry rhetoric against Iran as the two countries tried to
defuse a crisis over the American killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. In an address from the White House, Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to respond
militarily to Iranian missile attacks on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq overnight.
Iran said it had fired missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq in retaliation for last Friday's U.S. drone
strike that killed Soleimani. "It's a big sigh of relief for the markets," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist, at Scotiabank in
Toronto.
"The markets were concerned that there was the risk of an escalation. I would be very surprised though
that this would be the absolute end of all of this, but the risk of a direct confrontation between the
U.S. and Iran seems less of a risk," he added.
SAFE HAVENS
The yen, regarded as a safe haven in times of geopolitical turmoil because of its deep liquidity as
well as Japan's current account surplus, dropped, pushing the dollar to a more than one-week high of
109.19 yen JPY= . The dollar earlier fell to a three-month low of 107.66 yen following Iran's strike, but
was last up 0.8 at 109.18 yen.
The dollar also rose against the Swiss franc at 0.9737 franc CHF= , up 0.3%, after falling to a more
than one-week trough earlier in the global session.
A higher-than-expected U.S. private payrolls number for December also boosted the dollar. The dollar
index rose 0.3% to 97.30 .DXY in mid-afternoon trading.
The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private payrolls jumped by 202,000 jobs last
month after an upwardly revised 124,000 gain in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast
private payrolls of 160,000 last month following a previously reported 67,000 rise in November.
"The market still has the ultimate ballast, or anchor, which is the U.S. economy," said Marc Chandler,
chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex. "Even though there's some variance month-to-month
between the ADP and the non-farm payrolls report, the ADP is still a good indicator of the underlying
trend."
The euro, meanwhile, was at $1.1108 in afternoon trading, down 0.4% EUR= and near session lows.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 2:29 PM (1929 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1109 $1.1151 -0.38% -0.90% +1.1168 +1.1109
Dollar/Yen JPY= 109.1800 108.4200 +0.70% +0.29% +109.2100 +107.6600
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 121.30 120.94 +0.30% -0.53% +121.3300 +120.1800
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9735 0.9701 +0.35% +0.59% +0.9739 +0.9666
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3100 1.3123 -0.18% -1.20% +1.3169 +1.3082
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3028 1.3003 +0.19% +0.32% +1.3043 +1.2976
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6870 0.6868 +0.03% -2.15% +0.6885 +0.6850
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0818 1.0820 -0.02% -0.31% +1.0828 +1.0783
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8480 0.8496 -0.19% +0.31% +0.8516 +0.8456
NZ NZD= 0.6650 0.6640 +0.15% -1.28% +0.6672 +0.6619
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.8607 8.8522 +0.10% +0.94% +8.8807 +8.8338
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8451 9.8757 -0.31% +0.07% +9.8980 +9.8451
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.4524 9.4506 -0.40% +1.12% +9.4765 +9.4240
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.5033 10.5451 -0.40% +0.33% +10.5767 +10.5017
Bumpy ride for markets after Iran strikes at U.S. forces in Iraq https://tmsnrt.rs/35EEV4c
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