Dollar declines in Asia on US rate hike doubts
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
TOKYO, June 17 (AFP): The dollar lost ground in Asian trade Tuesday as traders reassessed prospects for an increase in US interest rates in the near future given ongoing economic uncertainty, dealers said.
The dollar declined to 107.80 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 108.15 in New York late Monday.
The euro rose to 1.5537 dollars from 1.5477 but was flat at 167.49 yen from 167.50.
The greenback came under pressure as speculation about a possible rate rise by the US Federal Reserve dwindled.
"Players had been pricing a Fed rate hike in too much," Hideki Amikura, a senior trader at Nomura Trust and Banking, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Fed "is almost certain to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets next week, and it currently doesn't appear to see a compelling case for raising rates before the fall."
Traders were waiting for US data on wholesale inflation, housing starts and industrial output due out later in the day.
The dollar declined to 107.80 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 108.15 in New York late Monday.
The euro rose to 1.5537 dollars from 1.5477 but was flat at 167.49 yen from 167.50.
The greenback came under pressure as speculation about a possible rate rise by the US Federal Reserve dwindled.
"Players had been pricing a Fed rate hike in too much," Hideki Amikura, a senior trader at Nomura Trust and Banking, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Fed "is almost certain to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets next week, and it currently doesn't appear to see a compelling case for raising rates before the fall."
Traders were waiting for US data on wholesale inflation, housing starts and industrial output due out later in the day.