* Weak Germany PMI fans ECB rate cut speculation
* Slower China manufacturing growth helps yen recover
* Australian dollar falls to six-week low vs U.S. dollar
* Dollar volatile vs yen on bogus AP tweet
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - The euro dropped to a
two-week low against the dollar on Tuesday after weak German
data raised concerns about the health of the euro zone economy,
reviving speculation that the European Central Bank could cut
interest rates.
Meanwhile, there was volatility in the yen on after a bogus
Associated Press tweet saying there were two explosions at the
White House. However, after it was denied and
blamed on hackers, traders moved on.
"Given the deteriorating fundamentals in the euro zone, the
prospect of (an ECB rate cut) has certainly increased," said
Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset
Management in New York. "A rate cut would be the quickest and
least expensive policy course."
A survey showed Germany's private sector shrank for the
first time in five months in April, overshadowing improvements
in French data. The U.S. manufacturing sector was also far from
upbeat and along with soft China factory growth numbers in
April, the reports overall fueled concerns about a global
slowdown.
The data also boosted the yen and drove the commodity-linked
Australian dollar to a six-week low against the U.S. dollar.
The euro fell as low as $1.2971 and trades say it may
break decisively out of the $1.30-to-$1.32 range that has held
for the past few weeks. It was last trading 0.5 percent lower on
the day at $1.3001.
The dollar last traded little changed at 99.24 yen.
