Dollar falls against other currencies in Asia

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Dollar falls against other currencies in Asia

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The dollar fell to its lowest level in over two months against the yen in Asia on Tuesday.

01 May,2012 01:02 pm

The US unit fetched 79.73 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade against 79.82 yen in New York, hovering around its lowest level since late February.The greenback fell below 80.00 yen for the first time since February 24 as poor consumer spending and other data fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve could embark on a new round of quantitative easing. The euro bought $1.3243 and 105.58 yen against $1.3240 and 105.67 yen in New York.Over the past few weeks, most of the major currencies have knocked around in sideways ranges as risk sentiment has ebbed and flowed. Overnight, a mild deterioration in risk appetite saw the US dollar and Japanese yen outperform, National Australia Bank said in a note.The Australian dollar tumbled against the US dollar after Australias central bank slashed interest rates by a shock 50 basis points to 3.75 percent due to weak economic conditions and easing inflation. The local currency, which has been at historic highs for the past 18 months, slumped from 104.10 US cents to 103.22 US cents in afternoon trade.The market was really only positioned for 25 bps so its been shocked, RBS Currency Strategist Greg Gibbs told Dow Jones Newswires while noting the tone of statement itself was not super dovish.Trading volume was slow due to the European May Day holiday, the start of a holiday-studded week in Japan. Japans financial markets were closed Monday and are to be shut again Thursday and Friday.Investor appetite also fell on news Spain was in a double-dip recession, stoking fears of another eurozone debt crisis.The dollar was mixed against Asian currencies, edging down to Tw$29.14 from Tw$29.16 on Monday, to 1,131.50 South Korean won from 1,131.87 won and 30.71 Thai baht from 30.72 baht.The greenback also fell to 42.14 Philippine pesos from 42.25, while rising to 9,185.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,180.00 rupiah and to Sg$1.2371 from Sg$1.2369.