Dollar gains on euro, yen in Asian trade
Thursday, 19 June 2008
TOKYO, June 18 (AFP): The dollar rose against the euro and the yen in Asian trade today as traders awaited fresh clues on prospects for interest rate rises in the United States and the eurozone, dealers said.
The dollar climbed to 108.08 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 107.93 in New York late Tuesday.
The euro eased to 1.5473 dollars from 1.5508 and to 167.26 yen from 167.39.
Despite a sharp rise in US wholesale prices, traders were unsure whether the US central bank would take action to curb inflation given sluggish growth in the world's largest economy.
"Players are divided over whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates in the near term," Takuma Kurosawa, a senior dealer at HSBC, told Dow Jones Newswires.
US wholesale prices jumped 1.4 per cent in May, the most in six months, but core inflation excluding energy and food remained tame.
US housing starts fell 3.3 per cent in May as industrial production declined a larger-than-expected 0.2 per cent compared with April, suggesting the economy is still being pressured by the fallout from the mortgage default crisis.
The dollar climbed to 108.08 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 107.93 in New York late Tuesday.
The euro eased to 1.5473 dollars from 1.5508 and to 167.26 yen from 167.39.
Despite a sharp rise in US wholesale prices, traders were unsure whether the US central bank would take action to curb inflation given sluggish growth in the world's largest economy.
"Players are divided over whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates in the near term," Takuma Kurosawa, a senior dealer at HSBC, told Dow Jones Newswires.
US wholesale prices jumped 1.4 per cent in May, the most in six months, but core inflation excluding energy and food remained tame.
US housing starts fell 3.3 per cent in May as industrial production declined a larger-than-expected 0.2 per cent compared with April, suggesting the economy is still being pressured by the fallout from the mortgage default crisis.