Dollar falls to new low in Tokyo
Dollar falls to new low in Tokyo
TOKYO (Agencies): The dollar renewed a global low to hit 80.15 yen on the Tokyo foreign exchange market early yesterday despite greenback-supporting market intervention by the Bank of Japan.
It was quoted at 82.92-82.97 yen in afternoon trading, against 83.89-83.92 yen the previous trading day here and 83.68 yen quoted in New York late Friday.
"The market is panicking," a dealer with a Japanese bank said, adding that there was absolutely nothing to stop the dollar's fall.
The Bank of Japan, the central bank, intervened in the foreign exchange market to prevent the yen's further rise against the dollar, sources said.
After opening lower, the greenback lost further ground to hit a new global low of 80.15 yen briefly in the absence of incentives.
It recovered later on continued market intervention by the Bank of Japan and an announcement by the Japanese government to hammer out this week economic stimulation measures, aimed at stemming the appreciation of the yen.
Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama has already ordered Economic Planning Agency chief Masahiko Komura to work out the economic measures as early as Friday in an attempt to stop the yen's rise, government officials said.
Murayama is to convene a special meeting of cabinet ministers today to discuss the measures, they said.
In Singapore, the Singapore dollar shot to an all-time high against the U.S. dollar as the currencies of Southeast Asia's booming economies gained strength on the battered greenback, dealers said.
The U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.3972, crashing through the psychological 1.4 level for the first time in currency trading here.
The U.S. dollar also fell to 2.4870 Malaysian ringgit from 2.4920 on Friday amid market talk that the Malaysian central bank could lift the statutory reserve requirements of banks from 11.5 percent to 12 percent.
The Indonesian Rupiah and the Thai baht held steady against the greenback, which was quoted at Rp 2,231 and 24.57 baht -- virtually unchanged from the levels on Friday.
Dealers said that Asian central banks were not seen in the market yesterday even though they sold U.S. dollars heavily against the yen last week mainly to adjust the currency balance in their foreign reserves.
Europe
The dollar started higher across Europe yesterday.
In London, the dollar was trading at 82.84 Japanese yen from a previous close of 84.16, but the U.S. currency managed to post respectable gains against the German mark to trade at 1.3976 from a previous close of 1.3811.
The pound was trading at 2.2381 German marks and $1.6015 from respective closes of 2.2191 marks and $1.6067.
In Frankfurt, the dollar opened at 1.4000 German marks, up from the previous close of 1.3805.
In Zurich, the dollar opened at 1.1505 Swiss francs, up from the previous close of 1.1330.
In Paris, the dollar opened at 4.8514 French francs, up from the previous close of 4.7930.
In Brussels, the dollar opened at 28.69 Belgian francs, up from the previous close of 28.36.
In New York, the dollar firmed against other major currencies except the Japanese yen in New York early yesterday, continuing its recovery begun in European markets.
At about 9:55 a.m. (13:55 GMT), the dollar was quoted as trading at 1.4010 German marks, up from 1.3783 late Friday, and at 82.65 yen, down from 83.68.
Gold, meanwhile, fell to $392.90 an ounce, down $2.90 from late Friday.
Gold closed at $391.65 in Hong Kong, down from the previous close at $392.85.
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