Foreign Exchange News

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The yuan closed at 7.8811 to the US dollar on the over-the-counter (OTC) market, compared with 7.8716 last Friday. On the exchange-traded market, the yuan ended at 7.8801, compared with the last trading day's level of 7.8709. The currency traded between 7.8808-7.8782 on the exchange-traded market, and between 7.8811-7.8775 on the OTC market, according to a Shanghai-based dea ...

(Updating to add analyst comment) LONDON (AFX) - Services sector growth in the 12-nation single currency area unexpectedly slipped in October, reaching its lowest level in nearly a year, sources said of a key survey. The Purchasing Managers' Index for the service sector dropped to 56.5 in October from September's 56.7, the lowest level since November 2005 and confounding analysts' forecasts for  ...

SINGAPORE (XFN-ASIA) - The US dollar was little changed in quiet afternoon trading here, having recovered earlier in the Asian session from a bout of profit-taking on the gains it made Friday after the release of data showing a fall in the US unemployment rate, dealers said. At 3.40 pm here (0740 GMT), the dollar was at 118.08 yen, up from 118.04 yen in Sydney just over 4-1/2 hours earlier. The e ...

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - A sharp move to revalue the yuan could have catastrophic consequences for the domestic economy, a Chinese central bank advisor said in comments published today, blaming an overvalued dollar on the world's monetary imbalances. Fan Gang, a Beijing-based economist and non-government representative on the monetary policy committee under the People's Bank of China, said in an op ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The central bank has set the yuan central parity rate at 7.8804 to the dollar, according to the National Foreign Exchange Center. The rate, published on the official Chinamoney website, compares with the midpoint of 7.8729 set the previous trading day. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) started setting a daily central parity rate on Jan 4. On July 21, 2005, China freed the y ...

NAGOYA (AFX) - Toyota Motor Corp expects to report a consolidated operating profit for the year to March 2007 of about 2.2 trln yen, up 17 pct from the preceding year, on the back of strong overseas sales of its fuel-efficient cars and the weaker yen, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources. Toyota, which uses US accounting standards, expects a 9 pct growth in sales to about 23  ...

SHANGHAI (AFX) - A growing chorus of Chinese economists and policymakers are calling for diversification of Beijing's bulging foreign exchange coffers, which are expected to top 1 trln usd this month. Zhao Xijun, a finance professor with Beijing's People's University, said that China can use its reserves to import "high-tech products and strategic natural resources." China should also  ...