By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — The euro on Friday stabilized against the dollar, after taking a tumble the previous day, as market focus returned to signs that the euro-zone economy was stabilizing.
The euro EURUSD -0.09% appreciated to $1.3411 by mid-afternoon in Tokyo, up from $1.3392 in late North American action Thursday, but below Wednesday’s $1.3522 level.
Although down about 1.7% just this week, the currency is still up more than 5% against the greenback compared to three months ago.
Against the Japanese unit, the euro EURJPY -0.89% was fetching 125.36 yen, from around ¥125.32. The dollar USDJPY -0.78% rose to ¥93.46 from ¥93.41.
The common currency tumbled Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told reporters that policy makers would watch out for any impact on the inflation outlook, should the euro continue to rise. The ECB had also left its policy interest rates unchanged, as widely expected.
“What we note is that the latest data shows the euro-zone is stabilizing. More work is needed, however,” said Evan Lucas a market strategist at IG Markets.
“Mario Draghi’s ‘whatever it takes’ comments that came in June last year was the flash point for the current rally and he is holding true to his word, meaning Europe is going to be a distraction, not a disaster,” Lucas added.
The ICE dollar index DXY -0.09% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major global currencies, rose to 80.155 from 79.721 late in New York on Thursday.
The WSJ dollar index XX:BUXX -0.17% , a rival gauge that measures the greenback’s moves against a slightly wider basket of currencies, slipped to 71.58, from 71.64.
Among other major currency pairs, the British pound GBPUSD +0.08% climbed to $1.5728 from $1.5696, while the Australian dollar was barely changed at $1.0287, as compared with $1.0284. AUDUSD +0.17%
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau. Follow him on Twitter @MktwKumar.
