Dollar stuck near 102 yen line amid few trading clues
Tokyo (June 24) The U.S. dollar traded narrowly near the 102 yen line in Tokyo on Tuesday as market players found few fresh trading clues.
At 5 p.m. , the dollar fetched 101.96-98 yen compared with 101.88-98 yen in New York and 101.87-88 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday . It moved between 101.81 yen and 102.02 yen during the day, changing hands most frequently at 101.84 yen .
The euro was quoted at $1.3605-3607 and 138.72-76 yen against $1.3599-3609 and 138.63-73 yen in New York and $1.3591-3592 and 138.46-50 yen in Tokyo late Monday afternoon.
After drifting in a tight range in overseas trading overnight, the dollar continued to trade without clear direction in Tokyo .
Traders were awaiting the Japanese Cabinet's approval of a new economic growth strategy scheduled for the early evening, dealers said.
Since a draft of the strategy was already released earlier this month, a sharp market reaction was viewed as unlikely but market players were keen to see how it has been fleshed out, with attention on a corporate tax cut as well as pension and labor market reforms, dealers said.
"Volatility in the dollar-yen exchange rate remains very low," said Minori Uchida , head of Tokyo global market research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ .
"Unless U.S. Treasury yields rise at a gradual pace, it would be difficult to expect the dollar to rise" beyond its recent boxed range around 102 yen , he said.
Compared with the new economic growth strategy, upcoming economic data, including U.S. price data on personal consumption expenditures in May, due out Thursday, and Japanese consumer prices, also for May and due out Friday, are expected to play a greater role in determining the near-term outlook for the dollar-yen exchange rate, said Shinichiro Kadota , foreign exchange strategist at Barclays Bank .
"If the (Japanese) data show a rapid acceleration of inflation, it will further undermine expectations for additional monetary easing by the BOJ and pressure the dollar versus the yen," he said, adding the upcoming U.S. price data could also provide hints as to when the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates.
Source: KyodoNews
