By Hiroyuki Kachi
The dollar was slightly higher against the yen and the euro in
quiet Asia trade Monday, with many investors shying away from
making major moves ahead of big events later this week such as U.S.
jobs data and the European Central Bank's policy meeting.
At last check, the dollar (USDJPY) was at Yen104.18 compared
with Yen104.08 late Friday in New York. Meanwhile, the euro
(EURUSD) was at $1.3126 from $1.3133.
Market participants were sitting on sidelines due to a lack of
fresh cues during the Asian session and because of the Labor Day
holiday Monday in the U.S.
"The market remains underwhelming due to the holiday in the
U.S.," said Shigetake Nakayama, senior manager of the foreign
exchange trading department at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
Ltd.
Regarding the dollar-yen trading pair, "it all depends on the
U.S. economic data," scheduled later this week. Upcoming U.S. data
include ISM manufacturing report on business for August on Tuesday,
manufacturers' shipments, inventories and orders for July Wednesday
and non-farm payrolls for August Friday.
But the dollar may show itself less vulnerable to selling
pressure even with slightly negative readings, as the stage is
being set for good economic data across the board, Nakayama
said.
Rather, a possible stock market falloff on fresh bout of risk
aversion from geopolitical instability needs to be monitored
closely, said Nakayama, who expects the dollar will likely move in
a range between Yen103.50 and Yen105.00 later this week.
Moscow appeared to be hardening its demands and to be ready to
press Kiev to accept outright secession of its two eastern
provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk.
In remarks broadcast on Russia's state television, President
Vladimir Putin called for "substantive, meaningful negotiations,
and not on technical issues and on the political organization of
society and statehood in the southeast of Ukraine."
In other currency trading pairs, the euro was at Yen136.75 from
Yen136.67.
The WSJ Dollar Index , a measure of the dollar against a basket
of major currencies, was up 0.03% at 74.78.
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