Investing.com – The U.S. dollar was flat on Friday morning in Asia as the Japanese yen dipped after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend that trade talks with China are progressing well.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.01% at 96.40 by 10:50 PM ET (3:50 AM GMT).
The USD/CNY was trading at 6.8784 with Chinese markets closed on the last day of the year.
The USD/JPY pair gained 0.15% with the yen trading at 110.42. The safe-haven yen was sought-after at the end of the year as investors entered into risk-off mode over concerns of slowing global economic growth, trade tensions between the U.S. and China and volatility in equity markets.
Elsewhere, the AUD/USD pair and the NZD/USD pair gained 0.38% and 0.21%, respectively.
The CNY came under pressure Monday as the National Bureau of Statistics released the official Purchasing Managers’ Index, which showed the country’s first manufacturing decline in more than two and a half years. The manufacturing PMI slid to 49.4, with a reading below signalling contraction.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet over the weekend that he “just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made!”
Bloomberg reported that a U.S. government delegation would travel to Beijing in the week of Jan. 7 to hold the first face-to-face trade talks with Chinese officials since Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day truce during a G20 meeting in Argentina earlier this month.