Yahoo Finance Yuan Inches Up as PBOC Cuts Key Liquidity Rate
Investing.com - The Chinese yuan inched up on Monday in Asia after the country's central bank cuts a key liquidity rate for the first time since 2015.
The USD/CNY pair inched up 0.1% to 7.0112 by 11:46 PM ET (03:46 GMT). The People’s Bank of China slashed the interest rate on its seven-day reverse repurchase agreements for the first time since October 2015, as the nation aimed at boosting business confidence following a set of poor economic data released last week.
The U.S. Dollar Index traded 0.1% lower to 97.810. The Federal Reserve will publish the minutes of it’s October meeting on Wednesday and several Fed policymakers are scheduled to speak before the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Meanwhile, Sino-U.S. trade progress are showing signs of progress, as Chinese state media Xinhua reported that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about a phase-one trade deal in a phone call Saturday morning.
The two sides had “constructive discussions” about “each other’s core concerns,” the article said. The USTR confirmed the call took place.
Markets were also boosted by comments by White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow, who said on Friday that China and the U.S. were close to a deal.
The "phase one" deal was originally expected to be signed at the Asian-Pacific countries' summit in Chile last weekend before the event got cancelled due to domestic riots.
On the data front, the Commerce Department reported on Friday that U.S. retail sales rebounded in October, but consumers cut back on purchases of big-ticket household items and clothing, raising questions about the consumer strength currently underpinning the U.S. economy.
The AUD/USD pair dropped 0.2% to 0.6808. The Reserve Bank of Australia will release its latest monetary policy meeting minutes on Tuesday, while ECB meeting minutes is due on Thursday.
The EUR/USD pair inched up 0.1% to 1.1060.
The USD/JPY pair also rose 0.1% to 108.80.
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