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Dollar hovers at mid-96 yen ahead of Bernanke, Paulson testimonies+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Nov. 18_(Kyodo) _ The U.S. dollar hovered mostly at the mid-96 yen level Tuesday in Tokyo as investors refrained from aggressively buying the currency ahead of congressional testimonies by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and others, slated for later in the day.
At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 96.60-62 yen, against 96.40-50 yen in New York and 97.10-12 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday.
It moved between 96.24 yen and 96.78 yen during the day, changing hands most frequently at 96.65 yen.
The euro traded at $1.2649-2651 and 122.19-23 yen against late Monday's quotes of $1.2644-2654 and 121.95-122.05 yen in New York and $1.2589-2591 and 122.24-28 yen in Tokyo.
The dollar, which moved narrowly in the lower 96 yen zone early in the morning, gradually edged higher into the upper 96 yen range by mid-morning.
But its upside was capped as investors opted to seek direction from testimonies by Bernanke, Paulson and U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair, to be made before the House Financial Services Committee, dealers said.
The chiefs are expected to testify about the recently conducted financial sector bailout.
Although many investors were reluctant to test the dollar's higher ground before the congressional testimonies, the dollar's downside was supported as falls in Japan's key Nikkei stock index were limited during the day, said Masafumi Yamamoto, head of foreign exchange strategy in Japan at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Tracing sharp U.S. equity declines, the Nikkei closed more than 2 percent lower from Monday, but the performance could have been weaker, dealers said.
Another factor giving support to the U.S. currency was market players who were hesitant about actively buying the yen on the back of a bleak Japanese economic outlook, they said.
"Investor interest in the yen as a safe-haven currency has somewhat faded" against the backdrop of Japan's bleak growth outlook, said Akihiro Tanaka, senior trader at Resona Bank.
Concerns about the Japanese economy heightened after Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano indicated that the economy may contract in fiscal 2009 as well as in the current fiscal year through next March.
"At the moment, I'm not confident (the Japanese economy) will grow" in 2009, he said at a news conference, adding he thought it "difficult to find factors that would contribute to turning (the nation's gross domestic product) into positive territory" considering the situation in Japan and abroad.
The remarks came a day after the government said the Japanese economy shrank by an annualized 0.4 percent in real terms in the July-September quarter for the second straight quarter of contractions.
Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc.
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