PD: Dollar under pressure vs. yen ahead of more U.S. earnings reports
TOKYO, July 17 (Kyodo) — The U.S. dollar remained under pressure mostly in the upper 93 yen range Friday in Tokyo, weighed down partly by explosions at Jakarta hotels, while many investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. earnings reports later in the day.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 93.70-72 yen versus Thursday's 5 p.m. quotes of 93.88-98 yen in New York and 93.76-79 yen in Tokyo.
The currency moved between 93.48 yen and 93.90 yen, trading most frequently at 93.65 yen.
The euro traded at $1.4082-4083 and 131.95-99 yen against Thursday's 5 p.m. quotes of $1.4144-4154 and 132.83-93 yen in New York and $1.4094-4097 and 132.17-21 yen in Tokyo.
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The news that at least eight people were killed in the explosions at two luxury hotels in Jakarta on Friday put a damper on investor sentiment, which was already dented by wariness over the fate of troubled U.S. commercial bank CIT Group Inc., dealers said.
"Considering the development from yesterday, (the incidents) led to yen buying when participants are concerned over various things such as CIT," said Masafumi Yamamoto, head of foreign exchange strategy at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
"But the impact...on the dollar and the yen was limited," Yamamoto added.
The dollar has been under pressure following a media report Thursday saying that CIT is likely to file for bankruptcy Friday after being denied a federal bailout.
But the dollar moved in a tight range throughout Tokyo trading partly because it got some support from robust earnings announced earlier this week by U.S. companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Intel Corp., dealers said.
Market participants are "cautious ahead of other earnings reports...and concerned about how the effects of (the possible failure of) CIT will spill over," said Takahide Nagasaki, chief foreign exchange strategist at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co.
Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are set to report earnings later in the day.
Some dealers said market players were reluctant to buy the dollar as they expect these companies' earnings are likely to be weaker than those of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co., which also released upbeat earnings on Thursday.
