New York-A terror alert issued in Japan sent the yen sharply downward in the U.S. session. The resulting surge for the dollar improved the U.S. currency's position not just against the yen but also against its major European rivals.
The dollar had already posted strong gains in New York Friday before the warning, touching its highest level in six weeks against the yen and extending its recovery from recent multiyear lows against its European counterparts.
At midmorning, more than an hour after the terror alert was issued, the euro was trading around $1.2553, below $1.2710 late Thursday in New York. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar was higher at 1.2569 francs versus 1.2390 francs, while sterling fell to $1.8673 from $1.8937. The dollar was trading at ¥108.89 compared with Thursday's ¥107.12, having pulled back from a peak above ¥109.
The move in Japan, which switched the nation's terror alert to its highest level, mobilized heavily armed police around airports, nuclear plants and government offices to guard against a possible attack.
It the was first time the government went on such a heightened alert since the U.S.-led military attack on Iraq in March 2003. A National Police Agency official refused to discuss whether the government had new information about a possible terror strike.
"This is a yen move, not a dollar move," said Neil Jones, head of foreign exchange sales at Nomura International in London. "It's 100% based on this terrorist threat upgrade, which triggered the stop-loss move higher," in the dollar against the yen above ¥108.50.
But Grant Wilson, senior trader at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, thought the dollar was picking up its own momentum. "[The terror alert was] what set it off," Mr. Wilson said. "But we're now seeing good buying of dollars across the board." 作者: stevenmxm 时间: 2004-2-22 00:06
再跌跌！！作者: ritchie 时间: 2004-2-22 02:35
由于继续受到经济基本面及利差优势的支持，英镑交叉汇率20日有所改善，因此英镑兑美元的跌幅相对较小。但预计这种延缓将会得到纠正。