Gaybutton Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 In most of Southeast Asia, the US dollar actually gained some ground. Meanwhile, in Thailand the baht continues to strengthen against the dollar. The following are the opening exchange rates for March 16: US Dollar: 34.79 Euro: 46.12 British Pound: 67.265 Australian Dollar: 27.295 Canadian Dollar: 29.41 The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Dollar Firms after Wall Street Rebound TOKYO - The dollar gained ground against the yen in Asian trade Thursday, supported by a rebound on Wall Street that helped to restore some calm to other global markets, dealers said. They said players remained cautious after recent signs of trouble in the US sub-prime housing market and the unwinding of "carry trade" investments funded by cheap Japanese yen. The dollar climbed to 117.11 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 116.88 yen in New York late Wednesday. The euro firmed to 1.3227 dollars from 1.3221 and to 154.90 yen after 154.77. "Players bought back the dollar against the yen after confirming the rebound on Wall Street," said Masaaki Fukui senior market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 57.44 points or 0.48 percent at 12,133.40 on Wednesday, rallying after dipping below 12,000 for the first time since November on concerns about the possible fallout from a weaker housing market. "But this does not mean dollar-negative factors such as the US housing market and the (partial reversal of the) yen carry trade are disappearing," Fukui said. The dollar was jolted this week by news that delinquencies on US home loans rose to a three-year high of 4.95 percent in the fourth quarter and to 13.33 percent in the risky "sub-prime" market. The yen has also recently been lifted by the unwinding of carry trades - where money is borrowed in countries with low interest rates such as Japan in order to invest in higher yielding assets elsewhere. "Players need to stay cautious for now while closely monitoring US economic indicators and keeping an eye on moves on the global stock markets," Fukui said. Among key data to be released later Thursday in the United States were producer price inflation for February, capital inflows for January and the latest Philadelphia Federal Reserve economic survey for March, dealers said. Agence France-Presse Quote
