FOREX-Dollar steadies after falling overnight on downbeat U.S. data

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E

By Eimi Yamamitsu
TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The dollar was steady in early
Asia trading on Friday after falling overnight as downbeat U.S.
data cast a shadow over the economic outlook, while the Japanese
yen stabilised after rising against the greenback and the euro
the previous day.
The dollar =USD gave up gains made after the Federal
Reserve upgraded its 2020 GDP forecast this week to trade in
negative territory on Thursday. It was last quoted at 92.866
against a basket of major currencies, and was on track for a
0.3% weekly loss.
A stream of U.S. data showed jobless claims remained
elevated at 860,000, while both housing starts and the
Philadelphia Fed business index fell. The Fed this week said it expected the U.S. economy
to shrink by far less than previously forecast in 2020 and
promised to keep rates ultra-low for a prolonged period.
The safe-haven yen last traded at 104.76 per dollar JPY= ,
after hitting a seven-week high at 104.52 on Thursday. Against
the euro, the yen hovered near the 1-1/2 month high of 123.29
touched overnight, changing hands at 124.14 EURJPY= .
"The dollar/yen dropped overnight almost too much, although
it's been falling since Monday," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief
currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.
He said losses in U.S. stock futures NQc1 EScv1 were
also contributing to a weaker dollar. U.S. stocks fell on
Thursday as technology-related shares slid for a second day and
as the downbeat economic data weighed on the wider market.
"For the dollar to regain its upward trend, it's necessary
for the market to make sure that the U.S. stocks take a pause
from a correction in stock prices," he said.
Sterling bought $1.2986 GDP= , having lost around one cent
on Thursday after the Bank of England said it was looking more
closely at how it might implement negative interest rates amid
rising coronavirus infection cases, higher unemployment and a
possible new Brexit shock. But the cable later erased losses after the Financial Times
reported that European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen
said she was convinced a trade deal with Britain was still
possible. The euro, meanwhile, was little changed at 1.1853 per dollar
on Friday EUR= . The euro zone PMI data next week will be a key
focus, with some analysts saying a strong PMI could take the
common currency back to the 1.19 level versus the dollar.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were marginally
stronger in Asian trade, with the Aussie 0.15% higher at $0.7323
AUD=D3 and the kiwi trading up 0.34% at $0.6778 NZD=D3 .
The offshore yuan CNH=D3 was trading at 6.7524 per dollar
after hitting a high of 6.7332. The yuan has risen more than 6%
from lows against the dollar in late May as China's economy has
recovered from the fallout of the coronavirus crisis, although
its rapid rise has raised some concerns. The Swiss franc was last quoted at 0.9078 against the
greenback CHF=EBS .