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The
dollar, euro and yen trod water, with activity reduced by a
holiday in Tokyo and as traders eyed Friday's U.S. non-farm
payrolls report, seen as critical in the Federal Reserve's
deliberations over whether to lift interest rates in December.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept its cash rate steady at
a record low of 2.0 percent. Although it said low inflation
offered scope to ease further if needed, the decision
disappointed those who had been betting that the central bank
would cut rates for a third time this year.
"Clearly the market had been looking for rate cut and the
chances of it have fallen as there's only one more meeting left
before year-end," said Societe Generale currency strategist
Alvin Tan in London.
"Also the Aussie is enjoying a bit of a belated bounce following
the recent improvement in risk sentiment, which was held back
into the RBA meeting."
The Australian dollar rose to as high as $0.7220 <AUD=D4> after
the decision. It touched a 6-1/2-year low of $0.6892 early in
September when risk appetite globally was at a low ebb amid
China worries. But the currency rebounded to as high as $0.7382
in mid-October as appetites grew.
The dollar index <.DXY> was barely changed at 96.940 after
drifting between 96.635 and 96.965 all of Monday. The euro <EUR=>
was hemmed in a tight $1.1000 to $1.1030 range and last stood at
$1.1008, down 0.1 percent on the day.
Against the yen, the greenback was equally restrained, trading
flat at 120.72 <JPY=>.
A crop of industry surveys on Monday pointed to another subdued
month for manufacturers across the globe, though a rise in new
orders offered hope the United States might have seen its worst.
"Investors appear to be in a holding pattern ahead of bigger
event risks later in the week," said Raiko Shareef, currency
strategist at BNZ in Wellington.
Elsewhere, in the world of web-based "cryptocurrencies", bitcoin
was on a tear. It hit an 11-month high of $377.92 on the
Bitstamp exchange on Tuesday, having gained over 80 percent
since dipping below $200 in late August.
(Additional reporting by Ian Chua in Sydney and Shinichi
Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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