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FOREX-Euro falls vs dollar; ECB's Trichet awaited

Published 06/04/2009, 08:24 AM
Updated 06/07/2009, 06:15 AM
EUR/SEK
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* Euro falls vs dollar after ECB leaves rates unchanged

* Trichet news conference awaited at 1230 GMT

* Swedish crown recovers from 6-week low vs euro

(Adds quotes, updates prices, changes byline)

By Jessica Mortimer

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - The euro fell against the dollar on Thursday following the European Central Bank's decision to kept interest rates unchanged, leaving the market awaiting a news conference by its president Jean-Claude Trichet.

The ECB kept interest rates on hold at a record low 1.0 percent, but the market is focused on the details Trichet is set to announce about plans to buy covered bonds [ID:nL3669427].

The dollar recovered from earlier falls against the euro and other higher risk currencies, with the market wary ahead of the ECB news and key U.S. non-farm payrolls data Friday, which have the potential to dampen hopes the global economy is on the mend.

Trichet's news conference is scheduled for 1230 GMT, while a policy decision by the Bank of Canada is also due at 1300 GMT.

"Trading is still consistent with the dollar bear trade losing some momentum as people await U.S. non-farm payrolls numbers on Friday," Brown Brothers Harriman currency analyst Audrey-Childe Freeman said.

"Trichet's press conference will probably be a bit of a non-event, but it will be interesting to see how negative he is on growth."

At 1211 GMT, the euro had fallen 0.3 percent on the day to $1.4101 , while the dollar index rose 0.3 percent to 79.752 <.DXY>.

The dollar is well above the lows hit earlier this week.

The euro hit $1.4337 in early trade on Wednesday, its strongest since December, before falling back. The dollar index on Tuesday fell as low as 78.334, the lowest this year.

The dollar has come under pressure in recent weeks partly because the market is nervous about the ability of the United States to finance its growing debt issuance, while perceived higher risk currencies gained on optimism that the global economy may be over the worst.

It staged a recovery after several Asian central bank officials reiterated their backing for the dollar as a reserve currency.

TRICHET EYED

The market is waiting to see details of the ECB's previously announced covered bond purchase plan to keep long-term rates down, and see what it projects for economic growth and inflation this year and next.

Earlier, the Bank of England announced it was leaving interest rates unchanged at a record low 0.5 percent and stuck to its 125 billion pound target for quantitative easing [nL41034886], as expected.

The Bank of Canada is expected to keep rates on hold at 0.25 percent but could make some mention of the Canadian dollar's recent rise. [ID:nN02506478]

Elsewhere, the Swedish crown rebounded from earlier 6-week lows against the euro -- prompted by concerns Latvia may devalue its currency.

At 1209 GMT, the euro fell 0.9 percent to 10.8158 crowns after earlier hitting a six-week low against the euro of 10.9832 per euro on hopes of fresh IMF support for Latvia.

The Swedish currency is highly sensitive to any trouble in Baltic countries due to the substantial exposure of Swedish banks to the region.

"This situation is worth watching and not just for its impact on the Swedish krona. It does have the capacity to lift risk-aversion at a time when there are already some very tentative signs ... that risk-taking might be about to wane a bit," said Steve Barrow, head of G10 currency strategy at Standard Bank in a note. (Reporting by Jessica Mortimer, editing by Mike Peacock)

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