Renminbi in best week since revaluation

Story link: Renminbi in best week since revaluation

The yen lost value during the week due to weak economic data out of Japan. Inflation was lower than expected, while construction orders, housing starts, and industrial production were all below expected levels. All this data led analysts to believe that Japanese interest rates will likely not be raised for the rest of the year and perhaps not until sometime next year.

The yen�s biggest losses came against sterling and the Australian and New Zealand dollars. The Japanese currency fell 0.8 percent over the week versus the UK currency to �223.05, while it dropped 1.1 percent to �89.78 against the Aussie and by 3.5 percent to �76.68 versus the kiwi. The yen suffered a less extreme loss against the euro, falling 0.4 percent over the week to �150.26 and it was even versus the US dollar at �117.23.

Sterling was stronger over the week on better than expected data on housing and retail sales, which led analysts to expect an interest rate hike is coming in November. The UK currency was 0.4 percent higher in relation to the euro to �0.6732, while it added 0.8 percent versus the greenback, to $1.9031.

The Swiss franc dropped 0.2 percent to SFr1.5795 against the euro on Friday even though the Swiss manufacturing purchasing manager�s index hit an all-time high.

The Chinese renminbi, meanwhile, added 0.29 percent to Rmb7.9532 to the US dollar, for its best weekly performance since its revaluation last year.