AFP, Tokyo :
The dollar rose against the yen but fell against emerging market currencies Thursday in Tokyo, as investors bet the US central bank will delay its first interest rate rise in nine years.
The dollar rose to 120.77 yen, from 120.61 yen Wednesday in New York, after the release of disappointing Japanese trade figures, and the euro gained to $1.1291 from $1.1285.
The single currency was also up to 136.37 yen from 136.11 yen.
A US rate rise has been a key fear factor for investors who worry it could harm a burgeoning recovery in the world’s top economy at a time when concerns about slowing growth in China has kept global markets on edge.
While the Fed is expected to lift rates by year end, rising expectations it will hold fire when it meets on Thursday spurred optimism around the world, driving equities and oil higher and prompting buyers to snatch up riskier currencies.
The Indonesian rupiah, the Taiwan dollar, the Thai baht and the South Korean won gained against the greenback. “Asian markets are doing well today in cautious positioning ahead of the Fed rates decision, with currency moves in particular reflecting the general feeling that rates will be left unchanged,” Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne, said in a note to clients.
The weakening of the yen also came after data showed Japan’s exports slowed for the second straight month in August, dragged lower by weak demand from China’s stumbling economy.
The dollar rose against the yen but fell against emerging market currencies Thursday in Tokyo, as investors bet the US central bank will delay its first interest rate rise in nine years.
The dollar rose to 120.77 yen, from 120.61 yen Wednesday in New York, after the release of disappointing Japanese trade figures, and the euro gained to $1.1291 from $1.1285.
The single currency was also up to 136.37 yen from 136.11 yen.
A US rate rise has been a key fear factor for investors who worry it could harm a burgeoning recovery in the world’s top economy at a time when concerns about slowing growth in China has kept global markets on edge.
While the Fed is expected to lift rates by year end, rising expectations it will hold fire when it meets on Thursday spurred optimism around the world, driving equities and oil higher and prompting buyers to snatch up riskier currencies.
The Indonesian rupiah, the Taiwan dollar, the Thai baht and the South Korean won gained against the greenback. “Asian markets are doing well today in cautious positioning ahead of the Fed rates decision, with currency moves in particular reflecting the general feeling that rates will be left unchanged,” Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne, said in a note to clients.
The weakening of the yen also came after data showed Japan’s exports slowed for the second straight month in August, dragged lower by weak demand from China’s stumbling economy.
