October 14, 2009
TOKYO (AFP) - The euro hit a 14-month high against the dollar in Asian trade on Wednesday as investors worried about the outlook for the US economy.
The euro climbed to 1.4887 dollars in Tokyo morning trade -- the highest level since August 2008 -- up from 1.4852 in New York late Tuesday.
The European currency slipped to 132.85 yen from 133.30. The dollar fell to 89.26 yen from 89.67.
While some market watchers attributed the greenback's losses to waning demand for "safe-haven" currencies, others blamed it on disappointment that the world's largest economy is not recovering as quickly as many had hoped.
"I think the euro rose against a backdrop of falling confidence in the US economic recovery," said Marito Ueda, dealer at FX Prime.
"Recent US economic data were negative. Job numbers in particular have been slow to recover, disappointing investors," he added.
The euro scaled new peaks despite a worse-than-expected report on German investor confidence released Tuesday.
The ZEW index, which measures the confidence of financial market players in the future health of Europe's biggest economy, fell to 56.0 from 57.7 in September.
The focus in markets was shifting to a monetary policy decision by the Bank of Japan due later in the day.
Traders were waiting to see whether the BoJ would announce plans to wind down some of its emergency measures aimed at keeping credit flowing to cash-strapped companies during the economic slump.
"If the Bank doesn't end the emergency credit measures, that's a surprise. But I don't know if it is a negative surprise or a positive one," said Ueda.
