|
TOKYO: The dollar eased back against other major currencies in Asian
trade Friday after a rally sparked by an upgrade to US economic
growth fizzled out, traders said.
The dollar was changing hands at 105.38 yen in
Tokyo afternoon trade, down from 105.52 yen in New York late
Thursday.
The euro rose to $1.5535 from $1.5503 but
slipped to 163.67 yen from 163.78.
The greenback had got a boost Thursday after
first-quarter US growth was revised to a 0.9-percent annual pace
from the initial estimate of 0.6 percent.
The dollar briefly rose to 105.88 yen in New
York, a level not seen since late February, but it failed to sustain
the advance.
Dealers said the US growth data further reduced
prospects of another US Federal Reserve interest rate cut and this
supported the dollar, which has suffered against the euro because of
a large yield differential.
“Certainly the signs are that the Fed’s
burst of easing is probably over and that is causing the market to
reappraise the possibility of interest rate hikes,” said Ian
Copsey, a senior financial analyst at Global Forex Trading.
The dollar has also been supported this week by
a rebound on Wall Street.
But Shuichi Kanehira, a forex dealer at Mizuho
Corporate Bank, believes stocks may struggle to sustain the upward
momentum.
“While the stock market has not so far showed
any negative response to rising Treasury yields, which lent support
to the dollar, the stock market may start reacting negatively to a
change in the market’s perception about interest rates,”
Kanehira said.
“In addition, we have to assess once again the
current state of the US economy through such important data as
non-farm payroll data” due next week, he said.
Traders were digesting a raft of sluggish
economic data in Japan, including drops in factory output and
consumer spending and a rise in unemployment, although the market
impact was muted.
Against regional Asian currencies, the greenback
fell to 43.765 Philippine pesos from 43.855 on Thursday, to 9,310.0
Indonesian rupiah from 9,330.0 and to 30.41 Taiwan dollars from
30.44.
It rose to 1.3660 Singapore dollars from 1.3642,
to 1,030.05 South Korean won from 1,028.75 and to 32.49 Thai baht
from 32.41.
-- AFP
|
