Dollar sags in Asian trade amid weak US data
Thursday, 26 November 2009
TOKYO, Nov 25 (AFP): The dollar came under fresh pressure against the yen and euro in Asian trade Wednesday after lacklustre US data dampened hopes for a quick and sustainable rebound in the global economy.
Investors waited for a batch of fresh US indicators including new home sales and durable goods orders to weigh prospects for the American economy, before its markets are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The dollar dropped to 88.20 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade to a seven-week low, down from 88.54 in New York late Tuesday. The euro edged up to 1.4983 dollars from 1.4959, but fell to 132.36 yen from 132.46.
The greenback wilted after Washington revised down economic growth in the third quarter and a survey showed sluggish consumer confidence.
"A decidedly mixed batch of US economic data again raised fears the global recovery is struggling to keep pace with markets' optimistic expectations," NAB Capital strategist John Kyriakopoulos told clients.
Worries that a US recovery was lagging behind other major economies were compounded after Germany's Ifo business climate index reached its highest level in 15 months, underscoring improvement in investor confidence in Europe.
"The release of the stronger-than-expected German Ifo encouraged risk appetite and demand for 'growth-sensitive' currencies" such as the euro, said Kyriakopoulos.
Meanwhile Japanese data that showed a surge in the trade surplus for the ninth straight month in October had little impact on markets.
The latest trade surplus came to 807.1 billion yen (9.1 billion dollars), a sharp rebound from a trade deficit of 75 billion yen registered a year ago, the finance ministry said.
Exports in October fell 23.2 per cent to 5.31 trillion yen from a year ago. The drop was, however, the lowest in a year.
The dollar was lower in regional Asian trade. It sunk to 1.3840 Singapore dollars from 1.3866, to 9,440 Indonesian rupiah from 9,495, to 46.77 Philippine pesos from 47.10 and to 1,153.40 South Korean won from 1,156.43.
The greenback fell to 33.20 Thai baht from 33.24 and to 32.25 Taiwan dollars from 32.27.
Investors waited for a batch of fresh US indicators including new home sales and durable goods orders to weigh prospects for the American economy, before its markets are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The dollar dropped to 88.20 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade to a seven-week low, down from 88.54 in New York late Tuesday. The euro edged up to 1.4983 dollars from 1.4959, but fell to 132.36 yen from 132.46.
The greenback wilted after Washington revised down economic growth in the third quarter and a survey showed sluggish consumer confidence.
"A decidedly mixed batch of US economic data again raised fears the global recovery is struggling to keep pace with markets' optimistic expectations," NAB Capital strategist John Kyriakopoulos told clients.
Worries that a US recovery was lagging behind other major economies were compounded after Germany's Ifo business climate index reached its highest level in 15 months, underscoring improvement in investor confidence in Europe.
"The release of the stronger-than-expected German Ifo encouraged risk appetite and demand for 'growth-sensitive' currencies" such as the euro, said Kyriakopoulos.
Meanwhile Japanese data that showed a surge in the trade surplus for the ninth straight month in October had little impact on markets.
The latest trade surplus came to 807.1 billion yen (9.1 billion dollars), a sharp rebound from a trade deficit of 75 billion yen registered a year ago, the finance ministry said.
Exports in October fell 23.2 per cent to 5.31 trillion yen from a year ago. The drop was, however, the lowest in a year.
The dollar was lower in regional Asian trade. It sunk to 1.3840 Singapore dollars from 1.3866, to 9,440 Indonesian rupiah from 9,495, to 46.77 Philippine pesos from 47.10 and to 1,153.40 South Korean won from 1,156.43.
The greenback fell to 33.20 Thai baht from 33.24 and to 32.25 Taiwan dollars from 32.27.