CURRENCIES: Dollar Holds Steady, While Turkish Lira Continues To Slide
November 27 2015 - 1:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Mayumi Negishi
The dollar was nearly unchanged against the yen and the euro in
Asian trade on Friday. With U.S. markets closed for the
Thanksgiving Day holiday, investors held fire amid thin trade and
limited catalysts.
The dollar was at Yen122.53 around after briefly hitting
Yen122.72. That compared with Yen122.65 late Thursday in New York.
The euro also moved sideway, remaining at $1.0611, compared with
$1.0621.
With the exception of the Turkish lira, flight to the safety of
the dollar has largely subsided following the Turkish military's
downing of a Russian fighter. Attention is now on the European
Central Bank's policy meeting on Dec. 3, and the magnitude of
potential easing steps, traders said. For the rest of the week, the
Thanksgiving lull is likely to continue with U.S. markets closing
early on Friday.
Investors have largely factored in a possible U.S. Federal
Reserve decision to raise short-term rates in December, but are
skeptical about further monetary tightening in the months ahead,
traders said.
The yield on the U.S. two-year government debt shows markets are
well-prepared for a possible interest rate increase, while
International Monetary Market speculators continue to place bullish
bets on the U.S. dollar, said FPG Securities Chief Executive Koji
Fukaya. "The bets on the dollar are at record levels, and it's hard
to imagine (the aggregate U.S. dollar position) rising even
further" to meaningfully cross the Yen123-to-the-dollar threshold
before year-end, he said.
The euro was at Yen130.05, compared with Yen130.35 late Thursday
night in New York.
The limited range of movement in the three currencies was in
contrast to the lira's slide. The lira has been on decline against
the dollar since last Friday, when Turkey warned Russia that
attacks on Syrian Turkmen villages could lead to "serious
consequences." After Russia announced plans to impose sanctions on
Turkish economic interests, the lira was down 3.6% compared with
the week earlier's 2.9243 lira to the dollar.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 27, 2015 01:02 ET (06:02 GMT)
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