ID :
38128
Tue, 12/30/2008 - 22:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/38128
The shortlink copeid
Dollar falls vs. yen, euro in holiday-thin Tokyo trading+
TOKYO, Dec. 30 Kyodo - The U.S. dollar slipped to the lower 90 yen level and fell briefly to 1.41 versus the euro Tuesday in Tokyo amid holiday-thin trading, as persistent concern over the tensions in the Middle East following Israeli airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip weighed on the U.S. currency.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 90.26-29 yen against Monday's 5 p.m. quotes of
90.63-73 yen in New York and 90.35-37 yen in Tokyo.
It moved between 90.10 yen and 90.99 yen during the day, changing hands most
frequently at 90.75 yen, down about 17 percent from the beginning of the year
and around 18.5 percent lower than the year-high of 110.63 yen, logged in New
York in mid-August.
The euro traded at $1.4087-4090 and 127.18-22 yen compared with late Monday's
quotes of $1.3925-3935 and 126.24-34 yen in New York and $1.4268-4269 and
128.91-95 yen in Tokyo. It was down around 12 percent from the year-high of
$1.6020 marked in New York in April, and 25 percent lower than the year-high of
169.96 yen recorded in Tokyo in late July.
The U.S. dollar hovered in the upper 90 yen level early in the morning,
temporarily approaching the 91 yen line at one point in the morning on
commercial buying, dealers said.
But after a round of buying the U.S. currency fell, weighed down by
geopolitical concerns related to the Middle East, dealers said.
''The growing tension in the Middle East has become a major focal point in the
foreign exchange market,'' said Toru Umemoto, chief foreign exchange strategist
at Barclays Bank, who added that the conflict could have an impact on the
currency next year.
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip continued Tuesday and have killed more
than 345 Palestinians over the past four days, according to media reports.
Currency dealers added that with many market participants already taking to the
sidelines for the year-end and New Year holidays through Jan. 4, many sell
orders were placed at upper 90 yen territory, pulling the U.S. dollar lower.
''There was a barrage of sell orders especially by Japanese exporters,'' said
Akihiro Tanaka, senior trader at Resona Bank.
Dealers added that the U.S. currency was undermined by speculation that
economic readings due out later in the day, including Chicago-area business
activity for December, will indicate further weakness in the U.S. economy.
While the dollar has stabilized, particularly over the past week, hovering
mostly in 90 yen territory, currency strategists warned that the currency could
once again test the year-low level of 87.13 yen in the coming weeks -- the U.S.
currency's lowest level in 13 years.
''Many investors are betting that the dollar will remain bearish,'' said
Kenichi Nishii, manager of the foreign exchange trading department at the Bank
of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Nishii said that though many market players are hopeful about the economic
policies to be implemented by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who will be
inaugurated Jan. 20, additional fiscal measures would be negative for the
currency because they would further deteriorate the country's fiscal condition.
The dollar, meanwhile, eased relative to the euro on the geopolitical worries
and on heightened speculation that the European Central Bank will forgo an
additional interest rate cut at its January policy-setting meeting, dealers
said.
The ECB's benchmark interest rate is currently at 2.5 percent, allowing the
euro to maintain its yield advantage against the yen and the dollar. The Bank
of Japan's key lending rate stands at 0.1 percent and that of the U.S. Federal
Reserve is at a range of zero to 0.25 percent.
==Kyodo
2008-12-30 21:53:28
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 90.26-29 yen against Monday's 5 p.m. quotes of
90.63-73 yen in New York and 90.35-37 yen in Tokyo.
It moved between 90.10 yen and 90.99 yen during the day, changing hands most
frequently at 90.75 yen, down about 17 percent from the beginning of the year
and around 18.5 percent lower than the year-high of 110.63 yen, logged in New
York in mid-August.
The euro traded at $1.4087-4090 and 127.18-22 yen compared with late Monday's
quotes of $1.3925-3935 and 126.24-34 yen in New York and $1.4268-4269 and
128.91-95 yen in Tokyo. It was down around 12 percent from the year-high of
$1.6020 marked in New York in April, and 25 percent lower than the year-high of
169.96 yen recorded in Tokyo in late July.
The U.S. dollar hovered in the upper 90 yen level early in the morning,
temporarily approaching the 91 yen line at one point in the morning on
commercial buying, dealers said.
But after a round of buying the U.S. currency fell, weighed down by
geopolitical concerns related to the Middle East, dealers said.
''The growing tension in the Middle East has become a major focal point in the
foreign exchange market,'' said Toru Umemoto, chief foreign exchange strategist
at Barclays Bank, who added that the conflict could have an impact on the
currency next year.
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip continued Tuesday and have killed more
than 345 Palestinians over the past four days, according to media reports.
Currency dealers added that with many market participants already taking to the
sidelines for the year-end and New Year holidays through Jan. 4, many sell
orders were placed at upper 90 yen territory, pulling the U.S. dollar lower.
''There was a barrage of sell orders especially by Japanese exporters,'' said
Akihiro Tanaka, senior trader at Resona Bank.
Dealers added that the U.S. currency was undermined by speculation that
economic readings due out later in the day, including Chicago-area business
activity for December, will indicate further weakness in the U.S. economy.
While the dollar has stabilized, particularly over the past week, hovering
mostly in 90 yen territory, currency strategists warned that the currency could
once again test the year-low level of 87.13 yen in the coming weeks -- the U.S.
currency's lowest level in 13 years.
''Many investors are betting that the dollar will remain bearish,'' said
Kenichi Nishii, manager of the foreign exchange trading department at the Bank
of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Nishii said that though many market players are hopeful about the economic
policies to be implemented by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who will be
inaugurated Jan. 20, additional fiscal measures would be negative for the
currency because they would further deteriorate the country's fiscal condition.
The dollar, meanwhile, eased relative to the euro on the geopolitical worries
and on heightened speculation that the European Central Bank will forgo an
additional interest rate cut at its January policy-setting meeting, dealers
said.
The ECB's benchmark interest rate is currently at 2.5 percent, allowing the
euro to maintain its yield advantage against the yen and the dollar. The Bank
of Japan's key lending rate stands at 0.1 percent and that of the U.S. Federal
Reserve is at a range of zero to 0.25 percent.
==Kyodo
2008-12-30 21:53:28
