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).