LONDON: The dollar firmed slightly on Thursday on relief a set of China manufacturing surveys were just a smidgen better than some had expected, but gains were limited as caution prevailed ahead of key U.S. jobs data on Friday.
The euro remained under pressure after a downbeat eurozone inflation report, while the yen firmed slightly in early Asian trade after the Bank of Japan’s tankan corporate sentiment survey contained both positive and worrying signs.
“The China readings were almost flat, not really an improvement, but a few people might have used the figures as an excuse to increase dollar-long positions with China closed today,” said Masashi Murata, currency strategist for Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.
China began its one-week string of National Day holidays on Thursday.
“The big pictures is still that the outlook for the global economy remains very subdued, mainly due to weak Chinese growth,” Murata said.
The final Caixin/Markit China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged down to 47.2 in September, slightly up from a preliminary reading of 47.0, but still marking its lowest reading since March 2009 and a deterioration from August’s 47.3.
China’s official PMI released separately inched up to 49.8 in September from the previous month’s reading of 49.7, though it still showed contraction for the second straight month.
