Greenback edges down against euro, yen in Asia

January 10, 2011 | 12:40

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The US dollar fell slightly against the euro and yen in quiet Asian trade Monday as investors awaited bond sales by financially beleagured European countries later this week, analysts said.

The euro was trading at $1.2915 against the greenback in morning Asian trade from $1.2912 in New York on Friday, and bought 107.14 yen from 108.44.

The US dollar also lost ground against the Japanese currency, exchanging hands at 82.97 yen compared with 83.06 yen on Friday. Markets in Japan are closed for a public holiday and will reopen Tuesday.

"It's been a very, very quiet start to the week. It's pretty hard to read into it," said David Forrester, currency strategist for Barclays Capital in Singapore.

Forrester said markets were looking to Italian, Spanish and Portuguese bond sales taking place later this week for leads in the market.

"I think the markets are basically going to be waiting on that before it makes any move," he told AFP.

If the bond sales prove popular, it would help alleviate stress on the financially strapped nations by raising cash, easing regional debt contagion fears and pushing up the value of the euro.

Weak US jobs data was also casting a pall over the greenback's value, with the economy creating just 103,000 jobs, many fewer than the 150,000 forecast by analysts, Forrester stated.

AFP

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