Euro Falls to its Lowest on Weak German Data; Dollar Jumps

The euro fell to its lowest since October on Friday after German industrial output for December recorded its biggest decline in a decade and strong employment numbers in the United States encouraged investors to buy the dollar.

The dollar has gained in recent sessions from solid data and because of fragile risk sentiment, as investors gauge the economic ramifications from the coronavirus outbreak in China, where the death toll continues to climb.

The focus for Friday is non-farm payrolls data, which are expected to confirm that the U.S. labour market is in robust health.

Elsewhere, the offshore yuan slipped 0.2% to 6.99 yuan per dollar but remained below the 7 level it crossed earlier this week. The offshore yuan was headed for a small gain this week, supported by central bank stimulus and China's announcement on Thursday of tariff cuts on U.S. imports.

The Australian dollar, often seen as a proxy for China, weakened 0.5% to $0.6699 after the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed growth forecasts in its quarterly economic outlook, blaming bushfires and the coronavirus.

The U.S. dollar traded at 109.9 yen on Friday, just below a two-week high reached earlier. For the week, the dollar was on course for a 1.5% gain versus the yen, which would be its biggest weekly gain since July 2018.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of rivals, edged 0.1% higher .DXY to 98.557, near its strongest since mid-October.

Sterling traded near a six-week low against the dollar and fell against the euro. It was headed for its worst week since the aftermath of the December general election, dogged by persistent worries about negotiations between Britain and the European Union for a post-Brexit trade deal.

The pound was last down at $1.2923. It staged a small recovery against the euro, rising 0.1% to 84.86 pence EURGBP=D3.

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