By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — The dollar edged lower in Asian trading hours Friday, although moves were muted and volumes reportedly thin, with the euro remaining under the $1.31 handle.
By Friday afternoon in East Asia, the dollar index DXY -0.09% — which tracks the U.S. unit against six other currencies — was at 79.827, down from 79.929 in late North American trade Thursday.
The euro EURUSD +0.16% traded at $1.3073, edging up from $1.3053 late Thursday.
The European currency fell below the $1.31 level Wednesday after the European Central Bank announcement that its new, longer-term lending operation had attracted strong demand.
“The overriding sense is that the extra liquidity provided by the ECB ... has increased its balance sheet to a record level,” IG Markets analysts in Melbourne said in a note, adding that they expect the euro to remain under pressure into 2012.
They said that “forex traders remained sidelined.” Many global markets were scheduled to close for long holiday weekends.
Among other major currency pairs, the dollar lost ground to the Japanese yen USDJPY -0.10% , easing to ÂĄ78.08 from ÂĄ78.19 late Thursday.
The British pound GBPUSD +0.05% inched up to $1.5690 from $1.5682, while the Australian dollar AUDUSD +0.33% changed hands at $1.0176, up from Thursday’s $1.0131.
Michael Kitchen is Asia editor for MarketWatch and is based in Los Angeles.
