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TOKYO: The dollar regained some ground in Asian trade on Friday
after heavy losses sparked by renewed fears of a recession in the
world’s largest economy, dealers said.
The dollar gained to 107.52 yen in Tokyo
afternoon trade from 107.37 in New York late on Thursday.
The euro edged down to $1.4809 from 1.4811 while
rising to 159.22 yen after 159.04.
Dealers said the dollar garnered some support
against the yen from demand for the currency by Japanese importers
buying on the dip.
It also ticked higher against the euro as
players squared positions.
“The downward drift in the euro was a
combination of position adjustment and to some extent slower growth
prospects in the eurozone area,” said Thomas Lam, a currency
strategist at Bank of America.
The European Commission on Thursday slashed its
2008 growth estimate for the 15-nation eurozone to 1.8 percent from
2.2 percent, blaming financial market turmoil, a US slump and record
oil prices.
The dollar had fallen sharply in overseas trade
on Thursday after a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia index on
regional manufacturing fell to minus 24 in February from minus 20.9
in January, much worse than expected.
“The Philadelphia report was very weak,
erasing the effect of the recent positive data and reminding
investors of US economic risks again,” said Nobuaki Tani, currency
sales manager at Resona Bank.
The headline Philadelphia index hit the lowest
level since the 2001 recession, raising alarms that the US economy
is on the brink of contraction, or already there.
The report “put a US recession firmly back
on the radar of equity markets,” noted Barclays Capital analysts.
With the economic calendar thin for the end of
the week, market players were looking ahead to US consumer
confidence and other data due next week, as well as Fed chairman Ben
Bernanke’s Congressional testimony, dealers said.
-- AFP
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