MW: Yen and euro gain more ground against the dollar
By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The yen and euro strengthened against the U.S. dollar Tuesday in Asia's afternoon trading as investors continued to shy away from the greenback in the wake of ongoing concerns over a slowdown in global growth.
"After an exceptionally strong performance last week where there was not one day that the dollar did not appreciate against the euro, British pound and New Zealand dollar, the greenback has finally given back some of its recent gains," Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT, said in a note to clients late Monday in New York.
"However, the sell-off was extremely modest implying that investors remain nervous and are simply waiting for another good reason to bail out of risky currencies," she said. "In fact, the dollar's more significant sell-off against the Japanese yen and Swiss franc confirms that investors are still seeking safety in lower-yielding currencies."
Against the yen, the dollar (USDYEN 85.2800, -0.0500, -0.0586%) slipped to ¥85.30 from ¥85.33 in late North American trading Monday. Last week, the yen hit a 15-year high against the dollar. Read Asia Markets column about the appreciation of the yen and gold.
The euro (EURUSD 1.2851, +0.0029, +0.2262%) rose to $1.2840, up from $1.2813 late Monday and one euro bought ¥109.53, up from ¥109.30.
The dollar index (DXY 82.29, -0.25, -0.30%) , a measure of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, traded at 82.397, compared with 82.535 late Monday. See Monday's Currencies column.
