Dollar steady after robust US jobs data
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
TOKYO, June 4 (AFP): The dollar hovered near a four- month high against the yen in Asian trade today after robust US jobs data further reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year, dealers said.
The dollar stood at 122.05 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, down slightly from 122.09 in New York late last Friday.
The euro edged up to 1.3455 dollars after 1.3442 but slipped to 164.09 yen from 164.12.
"Better-than-expected data corrected market pessimism on the US economy and lowered expectations of a Fed rate cut," said Toru Umemoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
The dollar rose Friday after data showed the US economy added a net 157,000 jobs in May.
The Federal Reserve has held its key lending rate at 5.25 per cent for nearly a year but market participants have reduced their expectations that the central bank will need to cut rates as the economy slows.
The market was also digesting a government survey showing that capital investment by non-financial companies in Japan was 13.6 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2007 than a year earlier, up for a 16th straight quarter.
Players were also looking ahead to a European Central Bank meeting Wednesday when economists expect interest rates to be raised by a quarter-point to a five-and-a-half year high of 4.00 per cent.
It would be the eighth such rate rise since December 2005 as the central bank seeks to curb inflation across the 13-nation eurozone.
The dollar firmed to 33.099 Taiwan dollars from 33.093 on Friday, to 46.22 Philippine pesos from 46.12 and to 928.40 South Korean won from 927.45.
The unit eased to 1.5290 Singapore dollars from 1.5296 and to 8,772 Indonesian rupiah from 8,835 while holding steady at 32.95 Thai baht.
The dollar stood at 122.05 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, down slightly from 122.09 in New York late last Friday.
The euro edged up to 1.3455 dollars after 1.3442 but slipped to 164.09 yen from 164.12.
"Better-than-expected data corrected market pessimism on the US economy and lowered expectations of a Fed rate cut," said Toru Umemoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
The dollar rose Friday after data showed the US economy added a net 157,000 jobs in May.
The Federal Reserve has held its key lending rate at 5.25 per cent for nearly a year but market participants have reduced their expectations that the central bank will need to cut rates as the economy slows.
The market was also digesting a government survey showing that capital investment by non-financial companies in Japan was 13.6 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2007 than a year earlier, up for a 16th straight quarter.
Players were also looking ahead to a European Central Bank meeting Wednesday when economists expect interest rates to be raised by a quarter-point to a five-and-a-half year high of 4.00 per cent.
It would be the eighth such rate rise since December 2005 as the central bank seeks to curb inflation across the 13-nation eurozone.
The dollar firmed to 33.099 Taiwan dollars from 33.093 on Friday, to 46.22 Philippine pesos from 46.12 and to 928.40 South Korean won from 927.45.
The unit eased to 1.5290 Singapore dollars from 1.5296 and to 8,772 Indonesian rupiah from 8,835 while holding steady at 32.95 Thai baht.