Dollar Trades Near 2-Week Low; Reports May Show China’s Growth

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar traded near a two-week low against the euro before reports tomorrow that economists say will show China’s industrial production gained and its exports declined at the slowest pace in 10 months.

The figures and a rally yesterday in global equities that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a 13-month high may sap demand for the dollar as a refuge. Losses in the euro versus the yen were limited before a report today forecast to show France’s industrial output rose in September for a fifth month.

“As solid data indicate, China’s economy is strong and keeps expanding,” said Minoru Shioiri, Tokyo-based chief manager of foreign exchange trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. “The market remains negative on the dollar and the yen.”

The dollar traded at $1.5006 per euro as of 8:29 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.4999 in New York yesterday, when it touched $1.5020, the lowest since Oct. 26. The yen was at 134.99 per euro from 134.91. The dollar fetched 89.96 yen from 89.93 yen.

The Dow gained 2 percent to 10,226.94 yesterday, the highest level since October 2008. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.2 percent to 1,093.08.

The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners including the euro, yen and pound, dropped 1 percent to 75.044 yesterday in New York. The gauge touched 74.930, the lowest level since August 2008. The index has lost 7.7 percent in 2009.

China’s Data

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast China’s factory output probably rose 15.5 percent in October from a year earlier after gaining 13.9 percent in September. The statistics bureau is set to release the data tomorrow in Beijing.

The customs bureau is forecast to report China’s exports fell 13.0 percent last month from a year earlier, according to another Bloomberg survey. That would be the slowest decline since December 2008. The report is due tomorrow.

French industrial production gained 0.5 percent in September after rising 1.8 percent in August, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists.