Euro further weakens in Asian trade

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Euro further weakens in Asian trade

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The common currency was changing hands at $1.2380 in Tokyo afternoon trade.

06 July,2012 11:31 am

The euro lost more ground in Asian trade Friday after central banks in Europe and China ushered in rate cuts and fresh easing, while US jobless data came in better than expected.The common currency was changing hands at $1.2380 in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from $1.2391 in New York late Thursday.The unit was also well down from its level above $1.25 the previous day, which was largely driven by surprise eurozone crisis measures adopted following European Union talks in Brussels last week.Against the safe-haven Japanese currency, the euro dipped further to 98.89 yen, from 99.00 yen in US trade.The dollar, meanwhile, was stable at 79.90 yen, up slightly from 79.88 yen in New York trade, after data Thursday showed US unemployment benefits tumbled last week, suggesting an easing in layoffs and beating analyst expectations.The euro has faced an isolated fall against the dollar and other currencies like the Aussie, said Osao Iizuka, head of FX trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.Markets are now looking to a June US labour report Friday for signs about the state of the worlds largest economy, and whether it would prompt the US Federal Reserve to step in with fresh easing measures.A stronger-than-expected outcome would prompt dollar buying, but its topside is likely to be heavy amid worries over the global economy, Sumino Kamei, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ senior analyst, told Dow Jones Newswires.The Bank of China led off the action with a surprise rate cut, its second in less than a month, underscoring both the sharpness of the countrys slowdown and the authorities resolve to counter it.The European Central Banks cut, to a record low 0.75 percent, was on the other hand widely anticipated.At the same time, the Bank of England kept its rate even but announced $78 billion in additional stimulus.The dollar was higher against other Asia-Pacific currencies.The greenback firmed to Sg$1.2693 from Sg$1.2663 on Thursday, to 1,138.95 South Korean won from 1,135.80 won, and to 31.65 Thai baht from 31.51 baht.The dollar also rose to 55.44 Indian rupees from 54.82 rupees, to Tw$29.90 from Tw$29.86, and to 9,415.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,381.00 rupiah.The greenback rose to 41.80 Philippine pesos from 41.67 pesos while the Australian dollar changed hands at US$1.0251 against US$1.0258. The Chinese yuan also edged up to 12.56 yen from 12.53 yen.