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TOKYO: The euro rebounded in Asia on Wednesday from a
six-month low against the dollar as traders took profits from the
greenback’s recent rally while awaiting fresh economic data,
dealers said.
The dollar eased to 109.11 yen in
Tokyo afternoon trade from 109.67 in New York late Tuesday. The euro
rose to $1.4701 from 1.4653 but slipped to 160.34 yen from 160.71.
Market players took profits after
driving the euro lower in response to gloomy data from Europe, said
Hachijuni Bank forex dealer Masatsugu Miwata.
“Currencies are moving for
technical reasons,” he said, adding that the euro’s rise was
likely to be limited.
Markets remained wary about
buying the single currency after downbeat consumer confidence and
business sentiment surveys in Germany, dealers said.
“Given current conditions of
the European economy, it would be difficult to keep buying back the
euro,” a Tokyo trader told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar has been supported
recently by speculation that major economies other than the United
States may feel the brunt of a global slowdown, prompting the
central banks in those countries to lower interest rates.
In contrast, minutes from the
Federal Reserve’s August 5 meeting released Tuesday showed members
indicated their next move was still most likely an interest rate
hike in view of inflationary pressures.
The British pound rose to
$1.8442, after falling on Tuesday to as low as 1.8331, its weakest
point since July 2006.
Dealers were waiting for more US
economic data due this week, including durable goods orders on
Wednesday, followed by weekly jobless claims and second-quarter
economic growth on Thursday.
In Japan the latest snapshots of
consumer price inflation and industrial output are slated for
released on Friday.
Against regional Asian
currencies, the dollar slipped to 1,084.40 South Korean won from
1,089.97 on Tuesday, to 1.4175 Singapore dollars from 1.4238 and to
31.52 Taiwan dollars from 31.54.
It also softened to 34.12 Thai
baht from 34.21, to 9,164.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,182.50 and to
45.73 Philippine pesos from 45.98.
--AFP
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