* Asian shares rise after strong China economic data
* Dollar falls to year low against basket of currencies
* Japanese shares slide as rising yen hurts exporters
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday,
buoyed by strong Chinese economic data which also boosted
commodity prices and sent the dollar to its lowest in a year
against a basket of currencies.
Major European stocks futures <STXEc1> were up 0.5 percent,
and the euro <EUR=> rose to its highest level this year against
the dollar above $1.4614, while U.S. equity futures <SPc1> were
up 0.9 percent, pointing to a higher start in overseas
equities.
China shares <> surged 2.2 percent after robust
retail, production and investment data for August indicated
China's economy is accelerating, even though exports slumped 23
percent, highlighting that global demand remains weak.
[]
"Real economic growth is extremely powerful and it is
sustainable," said Dong Xian'an, chief economist at Industrial
Securities in Shanghai.
Beijing said it was confident of reaching its 8 percent GDP
growth target this year.
Upbeat signals from Asia's most dynamic economy supported a
continued shift by investors into riskier assets, pushing the
dollar to its lowest level in a year against a basket of
currencies <.DXY>.
The dollar index, which tracks its performance against six
major currencies, fell 0.3 percent to 76.553.
Analysts in Australia said Asian central banks might be
diversifying out of the dollar.
"Our trading desk has seen significant flows from central
banks buying AUD/USD over the past few days, perhaps in a sign
that central banks, particularly those based in Asia, are
diversifying their reserve base away from the U.S. dollar,"
said Riki Polygenis, an economist at ANZ bank in Sydney.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> was up 0.7 percent by early afternoon.
The index is up about 8 percent from its level in
mid-September last year before U.S. investment bank Lehman
Brothers collapsed, sending global financial markets and
economies into a fierce tailspin. But it is still off about 35
percent from its all-time high in late 2007.
Japan missed out on the uptick in Asian shares on Friday as
the Nikkei index <> fell 0.7 percent, with exporters
including Toyota Motor <7203.T> under pressure as the yen
<JPY=> reached a seven-month high of 91.00 yen against the
dollar.
Stock investors shrugged off an unexpected downward
revision to GDP data, which showed Japan's economy grew by 0.6
percent in the second quarter, down from a preliminary reading
of 0.9 percent growth. But the news, along with a surge in U.S.
Treasuries, supported Japanese government bonds.
Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said the downward revision
showed Japan's economy had not yet fully recovered.
JAPANESE SHARES FALL
The dollar's decline and half percent rise in oil prices
<Clc1> to above $72 a barrel pushed gold <XAU=> up to $1,002.70
an ounce as the yellow metal was seen as a potential hedge
against inflation.
The New Zealand dollar hit its highest level since August
2008, rising above $0.7045 as the China data added to hopes for
regional economic recovery and demand for high-yield
currencies, while copper prices <SCFc3> jumped more than 1
percent on the strong Chinese numbers.
In South Korea, treasury bond prices dived for a second day
after the Bank of Korea signalled on Thursday that Korea could
be one of the first countries in the world to raise interest
rates []. The yield on one-year treasury bonds
<KR1YT=KSDA> rose 4 basis points to 3.56 percent, its highest
level since the end of 2008.
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in Sydney; Editing by
Kim Coghill)
