Chinese, Turkish currencies see gains

Story link: Chinese, Turkish currencies see gains

The Chinese renminbi reached a new post-revaluation high versus the US dollar on Thursday, going as high as Rmb7.5615 during the day after the People’s Bank announced that the nation’s gross domestic product had grown by 11.0 percent in the second quarter, causing speculation that interest rates could rise there.

The euro was also higher on the day, adding 0.1 percent to $1.3817 against the US dollar, and 0.3 percent each in relation to sterling and the yen, to £0.6745 and ¥168.67 respectively.

Gains for the shared currency came even though Germany has joined France in calling for more input from Eurozone governments on currency issues, now largely decided by the European Central Bank.

Also seeing gains on the day was the Turkish lira, which added 0.8 percent to TL1.2655 versus the US dollar ahead of a general election in Turkey on Sunday.

Sterling was weaker on the session on new data that showed a downturn in both retail sales and mortgage approvals, implying that interest rates in the UK might have gone up enough for the time being.

While retail sales grew by 0.2 percent in the latest data, they did not grow as much as had been expected.

By mid-session in New York, the pound had dropped 0.1 percent versus the yen to ¥249.98 and was 0.2 percent lower to $2.0483 against the greenback.