Yen firms in Asian trade on sluggish US stocks
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
TOKYO, June 26 (AFP): The yen clawed away from a four- and-a- half year low against the dollar in Asian trade today after US stocks remained under pressure and Japan's finance minister said currencies should reflect fundamentals, dealers said.
The dollar eased to 123.42 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 123.64 late Monday in New York, pulling further away from Friday's peak of 124.14, which was the highest level since December 2002.
The euro was flat at 1.3460 dollars while edging down to 166.11 yen from 166.46.
"Market players focused on the movement of US shares," said Saburo Matsumoto, chief forex strategist at Sumitomo Trust Bank, after US stocks lost more ground Monday on renewed concerns about mortgage failures.
The yen garnered some support after Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi said that exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals and that Japan's economy remained in sound health.
But the Japanese government appears content to tolerate a weak yen for now, said Toru Umemoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters and, with Japan's consumer prices falling, appears to pose little inflationary risk for now, dealers said.
The Japanese currency has hit multi-year lows against the dollar and an all-time trough against the euro as speculators borrow cheap yen to invest overseas and Japanese send their savings abroad in search of higher returns.
The dollars slipped to 926.25 South Korean won in Asian trade from 926.70 Monday, and to 32.25 Thai baht from 34.56.
It rose to 1.5376 Singapore dollars from 1.5366, to 32.765 Taiwan dollars from 32.737, to 9,051.5 Indonesian rupiah from 8,995 and to 46.22 Philippine pesos from 46.06.
The dollar eased to 123.42 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 123.64 late Monday in New York, pulling further away from Friday's peak of 124.14, which was the highest level since December 2002.
The euro was flat at 1.3460 dollars while edging down to 166.11 yen from 166.46.
"Market players focused on the movement of US shares," said Saburo Matsumoto, chief forex strategist at Sumitomo Trust Bank, after US stocks lost more ground Monday on renewed concerns about mortgage failures.
The yen garnered some support after Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi said that exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals and that Japan's economy remained in sound health.
But the Japanese government appears content to tolerate a weak yen for now, said Toru Umemoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters and, with Japan's consumer prices falling, appears to pose little inflationary risk for now, dealers said.
The Japanese currency has hit multi-year lows against the dollar and an all-time trough against the euro as speculators borrow cheap yen to invest overseas and Japanese send their savings abroad in search of higher returns.
The dollars slipped to 926.25 South Korean won in Asian trade from 926.70 Monday, and to 32.25 Thai baht from 34.56.
It rose to 1.5376 Singapore dollars from 1.5366, to 32.765 Taiwan dollars from 32.737, to 9,051.5 Indonesian rupiah from 8,995 and to 46.22 Philippine pesos from 46.06.