| Currencies: Yen gains on speculation about a G-7 statement
NEW YORK: The yen rose against the dollar Monday and increased by the largest amount in a month against the euro on speculation that European policy makers would say that the Japanese currency was too weak. The yen climbed against the 16 most-actively traded currencies after officials in Europe said representatives from the Group of 7 industrial countries would debate the issue when they met this week. Hideto Fujii, the Japanese vice minister of finance, said that the G-7 would discuss currency markets as usual. Futures trading data released Friday showed investors held record bets that the Japanese currency would fall. "The yen has momentum coming into the G-7 meeting after all the talk about it being undervalued," said Mike Moran, senior currency strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York.
Currencies: Paulson previews G-7 with comments on yen
NEW YORK: The yen declined against the euro and the dollar Tuesday after the U.S. Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson Jr., said that the Japanese currency was traded in "an open, competitive marketplace." The yen also dropped against the British pound, Australian dollar and Swiss franc as Paulson's comments cooled speculation that yen weakness would be singled out in a meeting this week of officials from the Group of Seven industrialized countries. His statement contrasted with those of European officials, who have said the yen was undervalued and Japanese interest rates were too low. "Paulson's comments indicated the U.S. won't pressure Japan to address the weak yen at the G-7," said Michael Malpede, a senior currency analyst at Man Global Research in Chicago. "That's reboosted the euro against the yen.
Canada Morning: C$ Little Changed In Continued Range Trading
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--The Canadian dollar is little changed Tuesday morning as the currency continues to remain in narrow ranges, with caution ahead of the G-7 meeting later in the week contributing to a lack of movement in currency markets. Canadian bonds are up modestly and are outperforming U.S. Treasurys in subdued trading. The U.S. dollar was trading at C$1.1835 at 9:52 a.m. EST (1452 GMT), from C$1.1825 at 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 GMT), and from C$1.1826 late Monday. "I think we will stay in tight ranges here," said Tim Mazanec, senior currency strategist at Investors Bank & Trust in Boston. There is no clear direction for the Canadian currency coming from commodity markets, and little from the monetary policy front, as expectations point to steady interest rates in Canada and the U.S. in the next few months, he said.
UPDATE: G7: Move In China Effective Forex Rate Desirable
ESSEN, Germany -(Dow Jones)- Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven leading industrialized economies Saturday said a move in China's effective foreign exchange rate is desirable. In their final communique after two days of talks here, they said global growth is more balanced while in their own economies "performance remains favorable." "In emerging economies with large and growing current account surpluses, especially China, it is desirable that their effective exchange rates move so that necessary adjustments will occur," the G7 said. The G7 had previously called on China to allow the yuan greater flexibility to move in response to market forces. The more direct reference to movement in the exchange rate represents a departure from previous statements. The G7 said it welcomed "China's commitment to rebalance growth." China's strong record of economic growth in recent years has been driven by an investment boom and exports, while G7 members want the government to encourage stronger consumer demand as part of a shared effort to reduce trade imbalances.
Central Bank's Foreign Currency Reserves Up
ANKARA - Turkish Central Bank announced on Thursday that its foreign currency reserves rose 1.4 billion USD to 61.3 billion USD, in the week of January 19-26, 2007. In its weekly bulletin, the Central Bank indicated that its total gross reserves (foreign currency plus gold) amounted to 100.8 billion USD on January 12th. Of that, 39.8 billion USD was from privately owned companies, including commercial banks, while the Central Bank held the rest. Meanwhile, Turkey repaid 1.3 billion USD in foreign debt in January.
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