Most major currencies held in a tight range during Asian trading hours Tuesday, with the dollar edging slightly lower, although the Australian dollar made gains on hawkish signals from the country’s central bank.
The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, inched down to 79.867 from 79.909 in late North American trade Monday.
The move extended weakness from Monday trading, when the greenback fell as optimism over Greece and an upbeat Chinese manufacturing survey undercut its safe-haven appeal.
The euro , meanwhile, stood its ground, buying $1.3075, up from late Monday’s $1.3054.
RBC Capital Markets senior currency strategist Sue Trinh said the European currency was receiving support from the kickoff of Greece’s bond buyback program, meant to cut the nation’s debt load and comply with requirements for its next aid payment.
The euro “has held on to the bulk of its recent gains…[and] pullbacks since the announced Greek buyback deal have been shallow. Our interpretation of the deal is that it has been designed to succeed, and thus Greece will get the formal nod of approval for disbursement of aid for the Eurogroup,” Trinh wrote in a note to clients.
BK Asset Management managing director Kathy Lien saw possible upside for the unit, depending on what happens in the debt market, suggesting “traders should keep eyes on European bond yields and the [euro’s] five-month high at $1.3170.”
Aussie rising
Unlike the U.S. dollar and euro, the Australian dollar saw some movement after the central bank cut interest rates as expected, but also showed signs it may pause the easing cycle.
The Aussie rose to $1.0469 from late Monday’s $1.0413 after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) took its benchmark rate a quarter-point lower to 3.0%, as expected.
While RBA Gov. Glenn Stevens said in his statement accompanying the decision that the currency remained at a relatively high level “given the observed decline in export prices and the weaker global outlook,” markets bid the Australian dollar higher.
RBC’s Trinh attributed the currency’s gains to hints from Stevens that policy may be on hold for a while going forward.
“The accompanying statement was hawkish, with the RBA dropping the phrase ‘for the time being,’ and there was also no reference to ‘further easing may be appropriate in the period ahead,’ which was in the November minutes,” Trinh said.
The RBA isn’t due to meet again until February.
Among other major currency pairs, the Japanese yen rose modestly, with the dollar slipping to ¥82.01 from ¥82.19, and the euro inching down to ¥107.22 from ¥107.29.
The British pound , meanwhile, changed hands for $1.6120, up from $1.6092 late Monday.
Marketwatch
