MW: Dollar up vs. euro, yen after Azumi's G-7 comments
By Deborah Levine
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar held onto gains against the euro and turned up versus the Japanese yen on Tuesday following comments from Japan's finance minister after a Group of Seven teleconference that some analysts had expected would lead to more information about possible solutions to Europe's sovereign debt and banking crisis. Jun Azumi said in a press conference that the G-7 wouldn't issue a joint statement, but that European members said they would tackle euro-zone problems such as Spain, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Azumi also expressed concerns about the Japanese yen's recent rise, describing it as "sharp" and said the group had no objection to Tokyo's stance on excessive volatility and disorderly moves in currency markets, the newswires reported. The euro EURUSD -0.46% stayed down at $1.2453, from $1.2493 in North American trade late Monday. The dollar index DXY +0.30% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, rose to 82.790 versus 82.528 Monday. Against the yen, the dollar USDJPY +0.41% turned up to ¥78.80, compared with ¥78.33 Monday.
