U.S. dollar mixed on Asian marts
U.S. dollar mixed on Asian marts
SINGAPORE (AFP): The U.S. dollar finished stronger in Singapore trading yesterday despite some profit-taking after it clawed back from historic lows to recover against the yen and the mark, dealers said.
The greenback, however, was mixed against currencies of the major Southeast Asian economies, dropping against the Malaysian ringgit and the Singapore dollar and closing slightly higher against the Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah.
The U.S. dollar rose to 86.6 yen from Singapore's opening level of 86.2 yen and 1.443 marks from 1.431 marks.
"The dollar ended firmer on heavy short-covering. It was boosted by some good buying of the British pound against the German mark," said a dealer with Banque Nationale de Paris.
"Also, confirmation of trade sanctions by U.S. on Japan is seen as reducing the U.S. trade deficit and thus is perceived as good for the dollar," the dealer said.
The United States was to release yesterday a list of Japanese products earmarked for sanctions which it hopes will prod Tokyo into widening its market access to American automobiles and auto parts.
The dollar was also higher at 5.078 French franc while the British pound dropped to US$1.565 from $1.5725.
Against the regional currencies, the greenback dropped to 2.486 Malaysian ringgit from 2.494 on Friday and to S$1.404 from S$1.412. Monday was a market holiday in Singapore.
The dollar, however, was up slightly to 24.73 Thai baht from 24.72, and 2,228 Indonesian rupiah from 2,226.
In Tokyo, the dollar fell back in the absence of incentives on the Tokyo foreign exchange market yesterday.
The greenback was quoted at 86.30-86.33 yen in late afternoon trading, against 87.15-87.20 yen the previous day here and 86.35 yen quoted in New York late Monday.
The mark was quoted at 1.4325-1.4328 to the dollar in late afternoon trading here yesterday, compared with Monday's 1.4523- 1.4526.
Europe
The dollar got back on an uptrend against the German mark in mid-session yesterday on the London foreign exchange market in the wake of some early weakness, while sterling was narrowly mixed.
In the early afternoon, the dollar was trading at 1.4520 marks compared with 1.4400 in the early morning and 1.4460 Monday evening in London. Traders said the greenback was helped primarily by some buying by U.S. investment funds.
In the early afternoon, the dollar was trading at 1.4520 marks (against 1. 4460 Monday evening in Paris), 86.95 yen (86.65), 1.2135 Swiss francs (1.2100), and 5.0950 French francs (5.0625).
Sterling stood at $1.5620 (1.5662), 2.2660 marks (2.2648), 135.82 yen (136.03), 1.8955 Swiss francs (1.8952), and 7.9584 French francs (7.9291).