Cyber Monday Deal: Up to 60% off InvestingProCLAIM SALE

FOREX-Dlr falls to 2-mth low vs yen after Fed

Published 05/20/2009, 09:42 PM
Updated 05/20/2009, 09:48 PM

* Fed says it considered buying more securities

* Gains in euro and pound capped by Asian stock falls

By Satomi Noguchi

TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a two-month low against the yen on Thursday extending a slide made the previous day after the Federal Reserve said it had considered buying more securities at its last policy meeting.

The dollar slid broadly on Wednesday after the release of the minutes from the Fed's April meeting as an increase in the Fed's purchases of mortgage agency and government securities would inject more dollars into the global financial system.

But gains in the euro and the pound, which had hit multi-month highs against the dollar on Wednesday, were capped by falls in Asian stocks, which reduced investor risk appetite.

"Dollar/yen is simply catching up other currency pairs in a broad dollar selling. A fall in U.S. Treasury yields the previous day is also encouraging the dollar's drop against the yen," said Hideaki Inoue, chief manager of forex trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank.

The dollar fell as low as 94.33 yen on trading platform EBS, its lowest since March, before rebounding slightly to 94.52 yen, down 0.4 percent from late New York trade on Wednesday.

The euro was down 0.1 percent to $1.3768, retreating from $1.3831 the previous day on EBS, its highest since early January, dragged down by a drop against the yen.

Market participants said the euro's jump against the dollar the previous day was exacerbated by traders covering short positions after the euro broke heavy chart resistance above $1.37 at May and March highs.

The euro fell 0.5 percent to 130.12 yen.

The pound was steady at $1.5735, but stayed near its 6-month high of $1.5795 hit on Wednesday.

U.S. Treasuries rallied on Wednesday after the release of the minutes from the Fed policy meeting.

Benchmark 10-year yields faced downward pressure around 3.19 percent after falling about 6 basis points the previous day. Bond yields moves inversely to their prices.

Tokyo's Nikkei share average slipped 1.5 percent in early trade, following a drop in U.S stocks as the Fed minutes also showed that it cut its forecasts for economic growth over the next three years.

The Bank of Japan begins a two-day policy board meeting on Thursday. But traders said the event is unlikely to have much impact because the central bank is widely expected to keep its interest rates near zero. (Editing by Joseph Radford)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.