Reuters: US Dollar Report: FOREX-Dollar slips to 2-month low vs yen after China data

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FOREX-Dollar slips to 2-month low vs yen after China data Aug 1st 2012, 05:58 Wed Aug 1, 2012 1:58am EDT * Cross/yen down after China data * Japan investment trusts selling cited * Doubts grow on ECB firepower * Fed widely seen on hold By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The dollar dipped to a two-month low against the Japanese yen on Wednesday after China's official manufacturing data poured water on hopes increased policy support may be helping to stem a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. The euro also eased against the dollar as disappointment over Chinese data added to nerves in a market already growing doubtful that both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will -- or can -- do enough to spur their respective economies. Optimism following ECB President Mario Draghi's comments last week that he would do whatever it takes to save the single currency is starting to wear thin. "The market thinks Draghi said he would use his trump card. But there are doubts he can meet the market's high expectations," said Katsunori Kitakura, associate general manager at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. The dollar fell to as low as 77.90 yen, its lowest in two months, and last stood at 78.02 yen, down 0.1 percent, while the euro fell 0.2 percent to 95.92 yen. As the yen is not so far from last October's record high of 75.311 per dollar, there is some wariness about yen-selling intervention by Japanese authorities, some traders said. The single currency fell 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.2295, down almost a full cent from its three-week high of $1.2390 hit last week. China's official factory purchasing managers' index fell to an eight-month low of 50.1 in July from 50.2 in June, suggesting the sector is barely growing. That prompted buying in the yen, particularly against the risk-sensitive euro and Aussie. There was also talk the yen-buying could be coming from Japanese investment trusts reducing currency exposure due to fund withdrawals by customers. With China data doing little to alleviate concerns about a slowdown in the global economy, the market is now focused on a policy announcement from the Fed at 1815 GMT. SELLING OPPORTUNITY? The Fed is widely expected to stand pat on rates, although some diehard optimists believe it will lay out the groundwork for further bond purchases in a bid to spur a sluggish economic recovery. On Thursday, the ECB will get its turn in the sun, with many market players expecting Frankfurt to revive its bond purchase programme, mothballed for months and opposed by the Bundesbank, to bring down elevated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs. Still, market enthusiasm for further action from Europe, such as bond buying by the euro zone's rescue funds, has already dissipated somewhat amid continued objections from Germany. Germany's finance ministry on Tuesday reiterated its view that there was no need to grant a banking licence to the euro zone's new bailout fund. Such a license could enable the fund to buy virtually unlimited amounts of debt issued by troubled euro zone states. "The euro could benefit momentarily if the ECB says it will buy bonds. But that will probably provide a good opportunity to sell the euro," said Minori Uchida, chief FX strategist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Many investors, analysts and traders think the impact of the ECB's action will be temporary unless there is a sustainable economic recovery in battered southern Europe. But euro zone data on Tuesday continued to paint a dire picture for a region with joblessness in the euro zone hitting its highest level since the single currency was born in 1999. The Aussie also slipped after the Chinese data, though it pared much of the loss thanks to firmness in Shanghai shares and stood at $1.0490, almost flat on the day and off a four-month high of $1.0539 touched on Tuesday. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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