The U.S. dollar on Wednesday slipped against major rivals, most notably versus the yen, amid concern that Japan may come under pressure from global leaders over the local currency’s sharp recent depreciation.
The ICE dollar index , a gauge of the greenback’s moves against a basket of six major global units, slipped to 80.028 by late afternoon in Tokyo from 80.083 in North America late on Tuesday.
The WSJ dollar index , a benchmark for the greenback’s moves against a slightly wider basket of currencies, dropped to 71.45 from 71.57.
The dollar, as well as other major currencies including the euro and the Australian dollar, extended their fall against the Japanese unit in particular.
Their drop came on concern that leaders of the Group of 20 nations may voice their opposition to the yen’s recent depreciation — a factor that aids Japan’s exporters but could hurt competitors from other nations. Read blog: Yen’s boon to Japan needn’t be S. Korea’s bane.
However, some analysts said that unless the G20 pressured Tokyo over the weak yen, the Japanese currency might see further declines.
“It seems logical that Japan will be questioned in the upcoming G20 meeting this weekend on its moves to weaken the [yen],” said Stan Shamu, a strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne.
“However … it’s all been words and rhetoric” so far, he said. So “we feel [dollar-yen] still has upside, and buying dips on any disappointment from the G20 could potentially be a good way to go,” said Shamu.
After straddling the 93-yen level for much of the Asian session, the dollar was fetching ¥93.04 Wednesday, down from ¥93.56 in New York late Tuesday.
The dollar has jumped nearly 17% and the euro has soared more than 23% against the yen over the past three months, amid a combination of monetary and fiscal policies by Tokyo to pull the country from an era of falling prices and economic stagnation.
The yen had rebounded sharply from intraday lows on Tuesday, after officials from the Group of Seven nations reaffirmed their commitment to “market-determined exchange rates.” The G7 leaders added in a statement that “excessive volatility and orderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability.”
Among other major currency pairs, the euro was at $1.3442, compared with $1.3449, while the British pound inched up to $1.5660 from $1.5654.
The Australian dollar was changing hands at $1.0346 versus $1.0303.
marketwatch
