* Mnuchin, Pelosi try to hammer out stimulus plan
* Pelosi says Democrats, Republicans remain apart on size of aid
* U.S. data mixed overall, little dollar impact
* Chinese yuan rises to year-and-a-half high vs dollar
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The dollar kicked off the fourth quarter on a sour note, falling to a more
than one-week low on Thursday against a major currency basket, as hopes for U.S. fiscal stimulus cheered
investors and spurred them to seek higher-yielding but riskier currencies.
The Chinese yuan gained the most against the dollar, reaching a year-and-a-half high in the offshore
market, as a holiday in China dried up liquidity, exaggerating the moves.
In addition, Chinese data on Wednesday showed its economic recovery was on track.
Commodity currencies such as the Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian dollars as well as the
Norwegian crown also rose versus the greenback.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin remained far from agreement on
COVID-19 relief in several key areas on Thursday, after a phone discussion failed to bridge what Pelosi
described as differences over dollars and values. Congressional Democrats have proposed a $2.2 trillion package to respond to a pandemic, while
Republicans have suggested a $1.6 trillion response.
"Both sides have a lot of signaling, like peacocks walking around. If we don't get anything before the
election, we'll get something after," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist, at Bannockburn Forex in
New York.
"But as we get into the new period, people still want to buy equities and to take on some risk," he
added.
Wall Street shares were higher on the day, while U.S. Treasury prices were lower.
In afternoon trading, the euro rose 0.2% against the dollar to $1.1743 EUR=EBS .
The Australian dollar rose 0.3% against the greenback to US$0.7189 AUD=D3 . The New Zealand dollar
gained 0.6% to US$0.6648 NZD=D3 . Against the Canadian dollar, the U.S. dollar fell 0.4% C$1.3270
CAD=D3 .
The dollar index was down 0.1% at 93.722 =USD , after earlier falling to 93.522, its weakest level
since Sept. 22.
That said, analysts remained skeptical about the dollar's weakness and looked to fade the moves in
risk assets overall.
"There is heightened possibility, especially in Europe, for more localized lockdowns," said Simon
Harvey, FX market analyst, at Monex Europe in London. "And that kind of risk-off filtering into the dollar
is very much alive and kicking."
Thursday's U.S. data had minimal impact on currencies. If anything, they affirmed the tentative nature
of the U.S. economic recovery.
Data showed U.S. initial jobless claims fell last week but remained at recession levels, while
personal income dropped in August. U.S. construction spending increased more than expected in August as historically low interest rates
boosted homebuilding, but manufacturing activity unexpectedly slowed in September. Elsewhere, the dollar fell to 6.7306 yuan CNH=EBS in the offshore market, its lowest since early May
2019. It was last down 0.5% at 6.7506 yuan.
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Currency bid prices at 3:00PM (1900 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1745 $1.1718 +0.23% +4.77% +1.1769 +1.1718
Dollar/Yen JPY= 105.5500 105.4500 +0.09% -3.04% +105.7400 +105.4100
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 123.97 123.56 +0.33% +1.66% +124.2000 +123.6000
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9185 0.9207 -0.24% -5.09% +0.9215 +0.9165
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2890 1.2916 -0.20% -2.77% +1.2978 +1.2821
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3272 1.3319 -0.35% +2.20% +1.3327 +1.3268
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7191 0.7161 +0.42% +2.42% +0.7209 +0.7155
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0788 1.0791 -0.03% -0.57% +1.0805 +1.0767
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9109 0.9071 +0.42% +7.75% +0.9156 +0.9062
NZ NZD= 0.6649 0.6610 +0.59% -1.29% +0.6656 +0.6606
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.3001 9.3300 -0.32% +5.94% +9.3500 +9.2525
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.9240 10.9369 -0.12% +11.04% +10.9640 +10.8626
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.9186 8.9544 -0.16% -4.58% +8.9645 +8.8994
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.4772 10.4945 -0.16% +0.08% +10.5137 +10.4716