Dollar slips against euro ahead of G7 meeting
The dollar dipped against the euro in Asian trade on Friday as expectations of efforts by world finance chiefs to talk up the sagging greenback faded ahead of a key meeting in Washington, dealers said.
By Agencies |
TOKYO: The dollar dipped against the euro in Asian trade on Friday as expectations of efforts by world finance chiefs to talk up the sagging greenback faded ahead of a key meeting in Washington, dealers said.
The euro rose to $1.5763 in Tokyo morning trade from 1.5742 in New York late Thursday, when the currency had earlier hit a record high 1.5915 as the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged.
Traders said the euro had eased off its peak after remarks by ECB president Jean Claude-Trichet, who said uncertainty over eurozone economic growth had increased.
The dollar was flat at 101.88 yen while the euro gained to 160.61 yen from 160.38.
Traders were turning their focus to a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven rich nations due to get underway later Friday.
Global investors are hoping for action to help ease gridlock in world credit markets. But traders were betting that the G7 would refrain from mentioning the weakness of the greenback in its post-meeting statement.
"We don't expect that the G7 communique will be altered to explicitly protest against dollar weakness," wrote NAB Capital's John Kyriakopoulos in a research note.
Barclays Capital analysts shared that view, telling clients: "We do not expect any major comment on the forex side as the depreciation in the dollar, at least so far, has arguably been consistent with relative economic fundamentals."
The dollar was supported against the yen by a better-expected report on US jobless claims, which fell by 53,000 to 357,000 in the week to April 5.
Market players widely expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates again at its meeting later this month, following cumulative reductions of 300 basis points since last September to ease a credit crunch and boost the economy.
The widening interest rate differential between the US and the eurozone is expected to diminish the dollar's attractiveness, dealers said.
Global Forex Trading senior financial analyst Ian Copsey said traders are likely to buy into any dips in the euro.
"Unless (the) G7 comes up with something more solid than the rather stodgy 'foreign exchange rates should reflect fundamentals' and 'excessive volatility is not welcome' comments I wouldn't want to bet against a lower dollar still," he said.
The euro eased off its record highs against the British pound after the Bank of England (BoE) cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.0 per cent Thursday. There had been speculation about a possible 50 basis point cut.
The euro was steady at 0.7983 pounds here compared with 0.7985 late Thursday.
The euro rose to $1.5763 in Tokyo morning trade from 1.5742 in New York late Thursday, when the currency had earlier hit a record high 1.5915 as the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged.
Traders said the euro had eased off its peak after remarks by ECB president Jean Claude-Trichet, who said uncertainty over eurozone economic growth had increased.
The dollar was flat at 101.88 yen while the euro gained to 160.61 yen from 160.38.
Traders were turning their focus to a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven rich nations due to get underway later Friday.
Global investors are hoping for action to help ease gridlock in world credit markets. But traders were betting that the G7 would refrain from mentioning the weakness of the greenback in its post-meeting statement.
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"We don't expect that the G7 communique will be altered to explicitly protest against dollar weakness," wrote NAB Capital's John Kyriakopoulos in a research note.
Barclays Capital analysts shared that view, telling clients: "We do not expect any major comment on the forex side as the depreciation in the dollar, at least so far, has arguably been consistent with relative economic fundamentals."
The dollar was supported against the yen by a better-expected report on US jobless claims, which fell by 53,000 to 357,000 in the week to April 5.
Market players widely expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates again at its meeting later this month, following cumulative reductions of 300 basis points since last September to ease a credit crunch and boost the economy.
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The widening interest rate differential between the US and the eurozone is expected to diminish the dollar's attractiveness, dealers said.
Global Forex Trading senior financial analyst Ian Copsey said traders are likely to buy into any dips in the euro.
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"Unless (the) G7 comes up with something more solid than the rather stodgy 'foreign exchange rates should reflect fundamentals' and 'excessive volatility is not welcome' comments I wouldn't want to bet against a lower dollar still," he said.
The euro eased off its record highs against the British pound after the Bank of England (BoE) cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.0 per cent Thursday. There had been speculation about a possible 50 basis point cut.
The euro was steady at 0.7983 pounds here compared with 0.7985 late Thursday.
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