FOREX-Dollar gains as European concerns hurt euro, sterling

(Recasts with stronger dollar, adds quote, updates prices)
By Karen Brettell
NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Friday as
concern about next week's European parliamentary elections
dented demand for the euro, while the British pound dropped to a
four-month low on worries about Britain's exit from the European
Union.
The dollar has been favored as a safe-haven currency even as
the trade war between the United States and China escalates.
The euro has been hurt this week by Italian Deputy Prime
Minister Matteo Salvini's comments that European Union rules
harm his country.
Salvini said on Thursday that he would "tear apart" rules
that are "strangling" Italy if his party scores well in the
elections. “The market is a little bit concerned about European
elections. It seems to be a flow into the dollar as a bastion of
last resort,” said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of
foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management in New York.
The euro briefly pared losses after the White House said
President Donald Trump is delaying a decision for as long as six
months on whether to impose tariffs on imported cars and parts
to allow for more time for trade talks with the EU and Japan.
Sterling fell to the lowest since Jan. 15 after cross-party
Brexit talks collapsed and concern grew about the impact Prime
Minister Theresa May's likely resignation would have on
Britain's exit from the EU. The offshore Chinese yuan fell to its lowest levels since
November after China said the United States must show sincerity
if it is to hold meaningful trade talks Trump dramatically
raised the stakes with a potentially devastating blow to Chinese
tech giant Huawei. The world's two largest economies are locked in an
increasingly acrimonious trade dispute in which they have
imposed escalating tariffs on each other's imports.
“Rhetoric from both sides is getting more heated, making a
U.S.-China deal seem a long way off,” Win Thin, global head of
currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said
in a report.
“At this point, this means there will be no high-level
negotiations between the two until a potential Trump-Xi
(Jinping) meeting at the G20 meeting in late June. This means
the next round of tariffs will likely come into play, signaling
further escalation and making a deal that much harder,” Thin
said.
The Australian dollar AUD= dropped to its lowest level
since Jan. 3 on the escalating trade tensions between the U.S.
and China. Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer sentiment jumped to a
15-year high in early May amid growing confidence over the
economy's outlook, though much of the surge was recorded before
the escalation in the trade war. Currency bid prices at 12:02PM (1602 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1166 $1.1172 -0.05% -2.64% +1.1184 +1.1156
Dollar/Yen JPY= 109.8700 109.8400 +0.03% -0.35% +110.0300 +109.5100
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 122.69 122.73 -0.03% -2.80% +122.9600 +122.2900
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 1.0106 1.0098 +0.08% +2.98% +1.0121 +1.0086
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2725 1.2795 -0.55% -0.25% +1.2807 +1.2720
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3468 1.3457 +0.08% -1.24% +1.3513 +1.3451
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6870 0.6892 -0.32% -2.54% +0.6897 +0.6872
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.1285 1.1284 +0.01% +0.26% +1.1299 +1.1270
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8772 0.8730 +0.48% -2.36% +0.8778 +0.8728
NZ NZD= 0.6521 0.6534 -0.20% -2.92% +0.6546 +0.6520
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.7838 8.7440 +0.46% +1.68% +8.7897 +8.7399
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8052 9.7821 +0.24% -1.02% +9.8117 +9.7764
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.6410 9.6370 -0.04% +7.55% +9.6536 +9.6178
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.7659 10.7703 -0.04% +4.89% +10.7888 +10.7490