FOREX-Dollar slips as Chinese comments marginally boost risk appetite

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Elizabeth Howcroft
LONDON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The dollar was marginally down on
Friday and risk appetite boosted by statements from China on the
need to find a solution to the tit-for-tat tariff war with the
United States, raising hopes that a "phase one" deal could be
reached.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing wants to work out
a deal with Washington and has been trying to avoid a trade war
- but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary. A senior Chinese diplomat urged the United States to
compromise in order to develop stable relations between the
countries. But after a week of mixed signals over the likelihood of a
preliminary trade deal, the developments did little to move
markets. Currencies continued to trade in tight ranges.
"While there are many trade headlines over the past few
days, one can also argue that this is actually a 'status quo',"
Commerzbank FX and EM analyst Hao Zhou wrote in a note to
clients.
"At the end of the day, there is little progress on trade
talks, and it looks like both sides are fine with another delay
of the phase 1 deal," he wrote.
Against a basket of currencies, .DXY , the dollar was down
less than 0.1%, breaking its three-day streak of gains and
heading for its smallest weekly change since the start of August
this year.
The Swiss franc was down 0.2% against both the dollar
CHF=EBS and the euro EURCHF=EBS , suggesting market optimism
as the Swiss franc is perceived as a safe-haven currency.
But the Japanese yen - also seen as a safe haven - was flat
against the dollar JPY=EBS .
The trade-exposed New Zealand dollar and Swedish crown were
both up 0.2% against the U.S. dollar NZD=D3 .
MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman wrote in a note that low
volatility and tight trading ranges are currently the key
characteristics of the FX market.
German third quarter GDP data released earlier this morning
held no surprises, showing that exports, state spending and
consumers helped the German economy avoid a
recession. "Up to now, the slowdown in Germany has been concentrated in
the manufacturing sector," Daria Parkhomenko, forex strategy
associate at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
"Unless global uncertainties are lifted, which are weighing
down on the manufacturing sector, it is only a question of when,
not if, the weakness in manufacturing spreads to the rest of the
economy," she wrote.
The euro was slightly up against the weaker dollar
EUR=EBS .
Flash eurozone PMI data were due at 0900 GMT.