MW: Yen slips vs. euro, dollar after Japan minister comments
By MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The euro bounced back against major rivals in early Asian trading Friday, getting a lift against its Japanese counterpart after Japan's finance minister warned about excessive yen strength.
Against the Japanese yen, the euro (CUR_EURYEN 114.0500, +1.9200, +1.7123%) rose to ¥113.39, from ¥112.99 in late North American trading Thursday, a day on which the single currency dropped as low as ¥109.50 -- its lowest level since 2001.
The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.2625, +0.0156, +1.2510%) also rose against its U.S. counterpart to $1.2578, up from $1.2550 late Thursday.
"Markets in principle should determine foreign exchange rates, but I think we must closely watch (markets) and ensure that there won't be any excessive yen rises," Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said at a news conference, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar (CUR_USDYEN 90.2500, +1.2500, +1.4037%) was at ¥90.13, up from ¥90.01 late Thursday, when it fell to a two-week low of ¥88.95.
The dollar index (DXY 85.33, -0.24, -0.28%) , which tracks the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to 85.611, from 85.637 late Thursday.
The Australian dollar (CUR_AUDUSD 0.8307, +0.0233, +2.8855%) also dramatically rebounded from an overnight sell-off, rising 1.7% to 82.45 U.S. cents, after falling below the 81-cent level earlier. Reports from Reuters, CNBC and others cited talk of suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of Australia inspiring some short-covering.
Against the yen, the Australian unit was also up sharply, changing hands at 74.27 yen after moving around the 72-yen level earlier.
Australia's formerly high-flying currency had taken a heavy hit as worries about Europe's sovereign debt crisis stirred turmoil in global financial markets. Read more on Australian dollar.
The British pound (CUR_GBPUSD 1.4444, +0.0104, +0.7250%) slipped to $1.4380, from $1.4417 late Thursday.
On Thursday, the euro spiked higher against the dollar in North American afternoon trading, reversing a deep decline. See Thursday's Currencies report.
