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Dollar gains slightly in Asia

29.12.09

TOKYO � The dollar rose slightly in thin Asian trade Tuesday on hopes for a swift recovery in the US economy, although many players were away for year-end holidays, dealers said.

The dollar gained to 91.73 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 91.62 in New York late on Monday. The euro slipped to $1.4363 from 1.4376 and to 131.75 yen from 131.76.

"Expectations of an economic recovery in the United States continued to sustain underlying support for the dollar," said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of forex at Chuo Mitsui Trust Bank.

"The market has reacted positively to recent US economic data, including job figures," Hosokawa said.

US data issued last week showed that weekly claims for jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level since September 2008.

That followed a dramatic improvement in the US labor market in November, when job losses narrowed to 11,000 and the unemployment rate dipped to 10.0 percent, according to official data released earlier this month.

Markets also welcomed a report from MasterCard Advisors Spending Pulse estimating that US retail spending rose 3.6 percent during the peak shopping period from the Thanksgiving to Christmas holidays compared with a year ago.

Source: Inquirer.net