|
 Commodity currencies extended recent losses, with the Australian
dollar setting a four-year low of $0.8223 and the Canadian dollar
hitting a five-year trough of C$1.1501versus its U.S. counterpart as
Brent sank below $66 per barrel.
Dennis Lockhart, head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve, said late on
Monday that he was in no rush to drop the Fed's pledge to keep
interest rates near zero for a "considerable time", while San
Francisco Fed chief John Williams said the phrase was still
appropriate.
Against the traditionally safe-haven yen, the greenback slid 0.8
percent to 119.78 yen <JPY=>, pulling further away from a seven-year
high of 121.86 yen set on Monday. The Japanese currency also rose
versus the euro, which shed 0.5 percent to around 147.93 yen .
"Currency markets are trading in a risk-off sentiment," said Neil
Jones, head of FX hedge fund sales at Mizuho bank in London, adding
that investors were booking profits on the dollar into the year-end
after its strong performance in recent months.
"People are cutting the higher yielding currencies which they've
been funding through being short yen and that position is being
reversed somewhat, which is manifesting itself in a much lower
dollar/yen."
The dollar may retreat further versus the yen in the near term due
to the potential for more position squaring in the wake of its
recent rally, said Masashi Murata, currency strategist for Brown
Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.
[to top of second column] |
"The size of volatility in the dollar's moves versus the yen has
become quite stark," Murata said, adding that choppy trading
conditions could persist toward the year-end.
The euro rose by 0.4 percent to $1.23620, moving further away from a
28-month low of $1.2247 hit on Monday as the dollar weakened across
the board.
Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar fell 0.3 percent,
having hit a five-year high on Monday.
(Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Singapore and Ian Chua
in Sydney)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
