Petróleo sob pressão após ataque dos EUA ao Irão

[Figas]

Sunday, July 13, 2003 11:11 p.m. ET


By Mariko Hayashibara

TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro struggled near a two-month low against the dollar on Monday with traders awaiting further selling cues from the Federal Reserve chairman's view on the U.S. economy and a series of major corporate earnings.

The euro, which was already in a corrective mode on growing optimism about the U.S. and global economy after the Fed's milder-than-expected rate decision in late June, was hit further after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder suggested last week that he wanted a weaker euro.

The single unit was also pressured against other European currencies such as the Swiss franc on media reports that Germany's Lufthansa had made a firm takeover bid for Swiss International Air Lines

The dollar, for its part, was supported by firmness in U.S. stocks, but dealers were sidelined ahead of this week's U.S. retail sales and consumer prices data, as well as a series of major earning reports and Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's congressional testimony.

"At this point, I still can't tell whether the euro is merely correcting its level or if a weaker euro has become a trend," said Masamichi Koike, senior vice president at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Co.

"In this respect, Greenspan's remarks will be very important, and I feel that any optimistic comments could push up the dollar further," he said.

The Fed chief testifies before the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee on July 15 and appears before the Senate Banking Committee on July 16 to complete his semi-annual testimony on the economy and monetary policy.

At 10:22 p.m. EDT, the euro stood at $1.1272/77 little changed against Friday's late U.S. level of $1.1276/82, after falling to a low of $1.1267.

The euro was also hardly moved at 132.67/79 yen from Friday.

The dollar was quoted at 117.70/75 yen against Friday's 117.89/97, weighed down by weakness in yen cross trade.

Dealers said the yen was firm against major currencies, supported by the view that foreign investors would keep pouring money into Japanese shares.

The Nikkei average ended the morning session up 0.40 percent at 9,673.85.

The euro's weakness against the yen was indirectly putting pressure on the dollar/yen rate, but wariness over Japanese intervention continued to limit selling of the greenback, dealers said.

"The market's caution over intervention is there. Such a mood will grow if the dollar breaks below 117.30 yen," said Mitsuru Sahara, a vice president at UFJ Bank.

Dealers were also focusing on the direction of the Canadian dollar ahead of the Canadian central bank's rate-setting meeting on Tuesday.

"Many had expected the Bank of Canada to cut its rate, but Friday's June employment report was stronger than expected, so the bank may not do so," said Tohru Sasaki, chief forex strategist at J.P. Morgan Chase.

"If so, the Canadian dollar may be bought from a standpoint of yield differentials."

The Canadian dollar was at 85.37/47 yen versus 85.64/74 in late New York .



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