By Hiroyuki Kachi
The dollar was a tad lower against the yen and the euro in Asian
trade Thursday, with many investors sitting on the sidelines ahead
of U.S. jobs data Friday or staying away from the market before the
Easter holiday season.
Around 0450 GMT, the U.S. currency was at Y119.62, compared with
Y119.75 late Wednesday in New York. The euro was at $1.0775 from
$1.0763.
Market participants said thin trading volumes ahead of the
Easter holiday season and the release of the labor report often
make currency trade vulnerable to fluctuations even with relatively
small amounts of orders.
Amid the wait-and-see mood, the currency market showed little
interest in a rebound in the Nikkei Stock Average, which was up
1.8% midday and poised to gain on a closing basis after two-day
losing streak.
Disappointing private sector U.S. payroll data overnight "helped
lower the market's view point," on Friday's nonfarm payrolls report
for March, said Shusuke Yamada, chief Japan FX strategist at
Merrill Lynch in Tokyo.
Still, with fewer market participants, even in the aftermath of
the labor data the currency market will likely lack clear direction
until next week when liquidity will go back to normal levels, said
Mr. Yamada.
"Turnover remains thin ahead of the Easter season," said
Gaitame.Com Research Institute analyst Kumiko Ishikawa, adding that
"now isn't the time to trade aggressively."
The Australian dollar was at Y90.83, after hitting a fresh
two-month low of Y90.53, amid fears that the Reserve Bank of
Australia will cut interest rates at its policy setting meeting on
Tuesday. That compares with Y91.01 earlier in the session.
In other currency trade, the euro was at Y128.86 from
Y128.90.
The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket
of major currencies, was down 0.09% at 87.62.
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 00:50 EST / 0450 GMT
Latest Previous %Chg Daily Daily %Chg
Dollar Rates Close High Low 12/31
USD/JPY Japan 119.62-63 119.75-76 -0.10 119.76 119.52 -0.08
EUR/USD Euro 1.0773-76 1.0762-65 +0.10 1.0779 1.0752 -10.94
GBP/USD U.K. 1.4833-38 1.4821-26 +0.08 1.4844 1.4818 -4.77
USD/CHF Switzerland 0.9649-53 0.9669-73 -0.21 0.9676 0.9649 -2.94
USD/CAD Canada 1.2597-602 1.2619-24 -0.17 1.2630 1.2598 +8.42
AUD/USD Australia 0.7593-97 0.7598-602 -0.07 0.7607 0.7569 -7.05
NZD/USD New Zealand 0.7472-78 0.7449-55 +0.31 0.7479 0.7425 -4.11
Euro Rate
EUR/JPY Japan 128.86-90 128.86-90 0.00 128.96 128.61 -11.08
Source: ICAP PLC
Write to Hiroyuki Kachi at Hiroyuki.Kachi@wsj.com