Investing.com - The dollar pushed higher against the yen on Thursday but gains were held in check amid ongoing concerns over the health of China’s economy, while the New Zealand dollar tumbled to almost six-year lows after the country’s central bank cut interest rates.
USD/JPY was up 0.1% to 120.64, off the one-and-a-half week highs of 121.28 hit overnight.
Concerns over slowing growth in China continued to weigh on market sentiment after data on Thursday showing that while the annual rate of inflation in China edged higher in August producer prices fell at the fastest rate in six years.
The dollar was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD at 1.1211.
Investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates at their upcoming policy meeting next week.
The New Zealand dollar slumped to its lowest level in almost six years after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut its benchmark interest rate to 2.75%, in a widely expected decision.
RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler warned that a major slowdown in China could have a negative impact on New Zealand’s economy, underlining fears over a China-led slowdown in global growth.
The Australian dollar also fell to lows of 0.6946, not far from Monday’s six-year trough of 0.6906, before pulling back to 0.7022 after a stronger than expected domestic employment report.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 95.94.