Saturday July 04, 2009
TOKYO: The euro struggled back from its lowest levels in a week on Friday, after a wave of sell orders compounded losses made on bleak US jobs numbers, and it found support as some investors judged it may have slipped too far. Dealers said the euro hit stop-loss sell orders around $1.3980, and possible hedge fund selling, in the crossover between late US trade and the start of the Asian day, sending it down to $1.3927 on electronic trading platform EBS.
The euro and currencies such as the Australian dollar, which have benefited from investor hopes for economic turnaround, had already weakened on Thursday after data showed US employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, far more than expected.
But analysts said market players then bought the euro back on Friday, helping it off the lows, although it was still weaker than before the employment data and investors were still dismayed the jobs numbers spelled a slower recovery than hoped.
The euro stood at $1.4002 on EBS, after shedding more than 1 percent on Thursday. It had hit a one-month high above $1.4200 earlier in the week. The euro dropped as far as 133.58 yen on Friday, extending a fall of nearly 2 percent on Thursday, but had edged back to 134.44 yen later in Asian trade.
It had also faced selling pressure after comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet the previous day that euro-zone activity would likely remain weak for the rest of the year. The ECB left its benchmark refinancing interest rate at a record low of 1 percent, as expected.
The dollar was steady against the yen at 96.00 yen, holding well within a range of 93.50-100 that has limited it since mid-April. With the jobs data out of the way, traders said focus was shifting to the Group of Eight meeting on July 8-10 and the US corporate earnings season that kicks off next week.
"Market players will watch China's comment on an alternative global currency. This is something that could take about 50 to 100 years, but the country's comment could still affect the market, even very briefly," said Tsutomu Soma, a senior manager in the foreign securities department at Okasan Securities.
(Reuters)
TOKYO: The euro struggled back from its lowest levels in a week on Friday, after a wave of sell orders compounded losses made on bleak US jobs numbers, and it found support as some investors judged it may have slipped too far. Dealers said the euro hit stop-loss sell orders around $1.3980, and possible hedge fund selling, in the crossover between late US trade and the start of the Asian day, sending it down to $1.3927 on electronic trading platform EBS.
The euro and currencies such as the Australian dollar, which have benefited from investor hopes for economic turnaround, had already weakened on Thursday after data showed US employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, far more than expected.
But analysts said market players then bought the euro back on Friday, helping it off the lows, although it was still weaker than before the employment data and investors were still dismayed the jobs numbers spelled a slower recovery than hoped.
The euro stood at $1.4002 on EBS, after shedding more than 1 percent on Thursday. It had hit a one-month high above $1.4200 earlier in the week. The euro dropped as far as 133.58 yen on Friday, extending a fall of nearly 2 percent on Thursday, but had edged back to 134.44 yen later in Asian trade.
It had also faced selling pressure after comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet the previous day that euro-zone activity would likely remain weak for the rest of the year. The ECB left its benchmark refinancing interest rate at a record low of 1 percent, as expected.
The dollar was steady against the yen at 96.00 yen, holding well within a range of 93.50-100 that has limited it since mid-April. With the jobs data out of the way, traders said focus was shifting to the Group of Eight meeting on July 8-10 and the US corporate earnings season that kicks off next week.
"Market players will watch China's comment on an alternative global currency. This is something that could take about 50 to 100 years, but the country's comment could still affect the market, even very briefly," said Tsutomu Soma, a senior manager in the foreign securities department at Okasan Securities.
(Reuters)
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