Market News

As reported at 12:58 p.m. in Sydney trading today, the U.S. Dollar rose in light Asian trading, continuing the greenback’s rebound from Friday’s trading in New York.

With investors covering their short positions, the U.S. Dollar made gains against the single currency Euro in Friday’s Tokyo trading, off of the 1-year low touched on yesterday.

The Australian Dollar hit a 1-year peak versus the U.S. Dollar in Tokyo trading today, supported by investors’ who are turning to the higher-yielding currency following continued evidence of the bettering health of the world’s economies.

As reported at 8:56 a.m. (BST) in London, the Japanese Yen moved up against the U.S. Dollar in trading today following comments made by the newly appointed Japanese Finance Minister, Hirohisa Fujii, who pointed out that there are benefits and advantages to the Japanese economy if the Yen is strong, provided that currency movements are gradual.

With investors waiting for the release of retail sales figures from the United States, the greenback was mixed in Tokyo trading today.

With China’s industrial output figures showing better-than-expected improvement last month, the U.S. Dollar Index slipped to a 1-year low versus a basket of major currencies in Asian trading today.

The U.S. Dollar continues to be on the defensive in Tokyo trading today, remaining poised near its lowest price this year.

As reported at 3:21 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar is struggling to recover from its lowest point versus commodity-linked currencies such as the New Zealand and Australian Dollars. Versus the single currency Euro, the greenback is floating close to its lowest price this calendar year as investors shift their funds into higher-yielding, albeit higher-risk currencies.

With investors trimming their buy positions, growth-linked, generally high yielding currencies, came close to approaching their 1-year high versus the Japanese Yen. Appetite for higher risk assets such as the New Zealand and Australian Dollars was somewhat lukewarm in Asian trading today, as investors wait for the U.S. market to reopen following a national holiday yesterday.

The USD and JPY were weaker on Monday while the commodity-linked AUD hit a one-year high after investors focused their attention on the full half of the cup regarding a mixed U.S. payrolls report.

The recent release of Gross Domestic Product data from Australia indicated that the country’s economic growth was better and faster at .6% than had been originally expected for the second quarter of 2009, helping to prop up the Australian Dollar versus the Japanese Yen which was forced to retreat from a 6-week high versus the AUD.

With Japan’s opposition party winning yesterday’s election in Japan, the Japanese Yen touched on a 7-week peak against major currencies. Versus the U.S. Dollar, the Japanese Yen traded at 92.54 Yen, a gain of nearly 1% on the EBS trading platform.

In Friday’s trading in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar traded mixed. As reported at 3:17 p.m. (JST), the U.S. Dollar Index, which is a measure of the greenback’s value versus a group of major currencies, edged up to 78.089 .DXY, an increase of .1%.

Concerned investors, worried that the recent rally in high-risk currencies has reached an end, moved back into the safe-haven of the Japanese Yen, pushing the Yen up broadly in Asian trading today.