Investing.com - The dollar rose against the euro and the yen on Wednesday as the yuan stabilized and forecast-beating Chinese trade data eased concerns over a slowdown in the world’s number-two economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.24% to 99.26 up from the week’s lows of 98.14 hit on Monday.
China’s central bank fixed the midpoint rate for the yuan at levels close to the fix of the previous two days, easing concerns over the rapid depreciation of the currency seen at the start of the year.
At the same time, official figures showed that Chinese exports rose 2.3% in yuan-denominated terms in December from a year earlier, rebounding from a 3.7% drop in November.
Exports were down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis in December in dollar terms, compared to forecasts for a drop of 8.0%.
Imports fell by 4% in yuan terms, after a 5.6% drop in November. In dollar terms, imports fell 7.6% from a year earlier, better than forecasts for an 11.5% decline.
The data indicated that the Chinese economy may be stabilizing, easing fears over a China-led slowdown in global growth.
The low-yielding euro fell against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.4% to 1.0817, extending a pullback from Monday’s highs of 1.0968.
The dollar rose against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.53% to 118.30, recovering from the more than four-month lows of 116.68 hit on Monday.
The Australian dollar was also boosted by the Chinese data, with AUD/USD advancing 0.71% to 0.7035. China is Australia’s largest trading partner.