* China output and retail sales a bit above expectations

* But new Chinese local-currency loans fall, imports down

* Dollar index pares losses after hitting 15-mth low

By Masayuki Kitano

TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The yen tested higher ground on Wednesday, buoyed by stop-loss buying and eking out gains against the high-yielding Australian dollar after a mixed batch of Chinese economic data.

The yen fell initially after the figures showed Chinese industrial output and retail sales rose a bit more than expected in October from year earlier, but then gained on more numbers showing a dip in the pace of investment and loan growth and lower than forecast exports and imports. [ID:nPEK212006]

The move also triggered stop-loss sell orders on dollar/yen around 89.50 yen JPY=, briefly sending the greenback down as far as 89.29 yen, its lowest level in more than a week.

"The numbers are a bit mixed," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief FX strategist for Japan at Barclays Capital.

Loans are a focal point, since they have been seen as a driver of China's domestic demand-led economic recovery, and a factor behind fund flows into China's stock market, Yamamoto said.