Speaking of Japanese repatriation (all bolding is mine):
Thursday February 25, 12:38 pm Eastern Time
Dollar extends losses vs yen, euro at U.S.
noon
NEW YORK, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The dollar extended its overnight
losses against the euro and yen during New York morning trading
on Thursday as traders locked in profits before month-end and
Japan's approaching fiscal year-end in March.
''Trading in dollar/yen will probably be choppy for the next weeks,'' predicted Eric Nickerson, chief
currency strategist at Bank of America, adding, ''the underlying sentiment for the dollar is still good, but
overshadowing that are considerations about month-end and year-end in Japan.''
After seesawing around 120 yen for most of the morning, dollar/yen fell to 119.18/28 at noon, from a
120.45/55 open.
The dollar fell to a 118.99-yen low as stop-loss orders put on last week as the dollar steamed ahead were
hit, dealers said. Next support is seen at 118.34, but dealers predicted that level would not be hit as the
dollar flirted with the lows only briefly.
One dealer also said there had been talk that Japan had been selling U.S. Treasuries and the dollar was
falling as funds were being moved back to Tokyo. ''That is just a rumor but maybe there is some truth
to it, the dealer said.''
Treasuries traded sharply lower at noon and dealers blamed strong U.S. economic data for the decline.
Euro/dollar climbed to $1.1058/61 from its $1.1012/15 open. The British pound also rose to $1.6058/68
from $1.6005/15 at the open and $1.5965/75 on Wednesday.
The dollar briefly pared overnight losses in early trading after the Commerce Department said orders for
U.S. durable goods surged in January at the fastest rate in more than a year, largely because of strong
airplane and car orders.
Durables orders rose by 3.9 percent in January after rising an upwardly revised 3.4 percent in
December, easily outpacing Wall Street's expectations for a 0.2-percent drop.
But the dollar soon turned lower as stocks began to fall.
(Note: this article is ''in progress''; there will likely be an update soon.) |
