Thursday, 03 September 2015 11:45
TOKYO: The dollar rose against the yen on Thursday, extending its recovery from losses early in the week, as confidence in global markets returned owing to solid US economic data.
In Tokyo, the dollar bought 120.40 yen, up from 120.32 yen in New York.
The euro was nearly flat at $ 1.1224 and 135.15 yen against $ 112.25 and 135.06 yen.
The greenback strengthened against its peers amid signs the US economy will be able to shrug off slowing growth in China, and with volatile Chinese markets closed Thursday and Friday as the country marked Tokyo’s World War II defeat.
“Demand for the dollar remains strong, but investors are also wary of the Chinese risks that may hamper a Federal Reserve rate hike,” Keisuke Hino, a foreign-exchange trader at Mizuho Bank, told Bloomberg News.
But National Australia Bank said in a commentary: “China’s economy is not in a terrible shape, and … the Fed will not be deterred from raising the federal funds rate by more than envisaged over the next year or so.”
Investors are weighing the likelihood of a Fed increase in zero-level interest rates this month. The US central bank will determine the timing of its first rate hike since 2006 after looking at economic data.
On Wednesday, the latest Fed Beige Book showed steady US economic growth and a private report showed hiring in the US was mostly on pace in August.
Official US jobs figures for August, due Friday, were widely expected to be positive, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who estimated more than 200,000 jobs would have been created for the fourth straight month.
