MW: Dollar slips against all but yen in Asia trade
By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) — The dollar slipped against most major rivals in Asia trading Thursday, as investors turned their attention away from the recent debt worries in Europe.
The euro (EURUSD 1.3639, +0.0114, +0.8428%) rose to $1.3585 from $1.3521 in late North American trading on Wednesday. See real-time currency quotes and tools.
The dollar index (DXY 78.56, -0.53, -0.67%) , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, slipped to 78.771 from 79.099 late Wednesday.
The British pound (GBPUSD 1.5962, +0.0057, +0.3584%) rose to $1.5910 from $1.5801 late Wednesday.
But against the Japanese yen, the dollar (USDYEN 83.1700, -0.0300, -0.0361%) edged down slightly, trading at ¥83.19, down from ¥83.30 late Wednesday.
Still, the U.S. unit remained above yen levels at which market participants expected the Bank of Japan to intervene at the behest of the Ministry of Finance, to curb the yen’s appreciation. Such talk was rampant as the greenback teetered just about the ¥80 level in recent weeks.
“A large contingent of overseas speculators were keen to challenge the MOF’s resolve and test all-time lows in dollar-yen of ¥79.75,” said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ strategist Naomi Fink.
“The problem, however, was that the anticipation of the Fed’s easing over-shot, exercising a much greater effect on the dollar than the announcement itself,” Fink said in emailed comments.
