The euro stayed firm against the dollar in Asia yesterday as risk appetite grew with higher stock prices and increased confidence in the global economy, dealers said.
The euro bought US$1.2716 in Tokyo afternoon trade and 113.11 yen, compared with US$1.2724 and 112.88 yen in New York late Tuesday.
The European currency is seen as a riskier bet than the greenback and tends to strengthen as investors gain confidence in the global economy.
The dollar rose to 89.00 yen from 88.68 yen. Tokyo share prices were up by more than two percent in early trade following an overnight surge on Wall Street caused by encouraging second-quarter corporate results. There were expectations that further strength in U.S. corporate earnings would buoy riskier assets after strong results from chip giant Intel, said Osao Iizuka, head of forex trading at Sumitomo Trust and Banking.
The dollar edged down against other Asian currencies.
The dollar dropped to 1.3759 Singaporean dollars from 1.3825 Tuesday, to 46.27 Philippine pesos from 46.30, to NT$32.14 from NT$32.15 and to 32.30 Thai baht from 32.35. It was flat against the Indonesian rupiah at 9,040.00.
