Yuan Falls on Weak CPI, PPI; U.S. Dollar Rises Despite Retail Sales Data

Investing.com - The yuan fell against the U.S. dollar on Friday in Asia after data showed China’s January Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index both missed expectations.

The country’s CPI rose 1.7% in January from a year earlier, slower than the 1.9% increase in December and below market expectations for a 1.9% rise.

Meanwhile, the PPI rose 0.1% year-on-year in January, the weakest pace since September 2016 and slowing from the previous month's 0.9% increase.

Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive for the yuan, while a low reading is seen as negative for the Chinese currency.

The USD/CNY pair last traded at 6.7753 at 12:23 AM ET (5:23 GMT), up 0.1%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was also up 0.1% at 96.893.

The rise in the dollar came even after the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. retail sales fell for the first time in ten months in December.

CIBC said one weak reading shouldn't prove worrisome as a strong labour market will lend support to consumer spending in the coming months.

"Still, today's data reinforces the Fed's cautious stance for the time being and will weigh on the USD and see yields fall," the bank added.

The market now awaits developments in trade talks between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump's upbeat assessment of the talks earlier in the week raised hopes that the two sides might still be able to reach a deal before the March 1 deadline, but headlines that came out today suggested an agreement might still be some way off.

Citing three unnamed U.S. and Chinese officials, Bloomberg reported that the two countries have made little progress so far during their discussions in Beijing this week. They have failed to narrow the gap on issues related to structural reforms to China’s economy, according to the report.

Elsewhere, the AUD/USD pair fell 0.2%. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Christopher Kent said in a speech in Melbourne Friday that he thinks recent weakness in the Aussie dollar might be helpful to the economy.

“While the exchange rate is still within the relatively narrow range of the past few years, the recent depreciation is helpful at the margin given that there remains spare capacity in the economy and inflation remains below target,” he said.

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