Shutterstock photo* S.Korea envoy says Trump ready to meet N.Korean leader byMay
* Trump grants tariff exemption to Mexico, Canada
* ECB's Draghi raises caution on inflation, protectionism
By Masayuki Kitano
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - The dollar rose versus thesafe haven yen on Friday as hopes of a breakthrough in the NorthKorean nuclear standoff rose after U.S. President Donald Trumpshowed willingness to accept an invitation to meet North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un by May.
A South Korean envoy said in Washington that Trump expressedwillingness, and that Kim had expressed commitment todenuclearisation. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1QQ239
"Both the Nikkei and dollar/yen are rocketing higher onencouraging North Korea headlines and improving risk sentiment,"Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for Oanda inSingapore, said in a note.
"We should expect this news to boost regional marketsentiment as well," he added.
Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.6 percent to 106.87 yenJPY= , inching further away from a low of 105.24 yen set onMarch 2, the greenback's weakest level since November 2016.Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 rose more than 2percent.
The greenback had made ground earlier against the yen assome fears of a global trade war receded after Trump imposedimport tariffs on steel and aluminium, while softening hisstance by announcing exemptions for Canada and Mexico, andleaving open the chance for other countries to obtain their own. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1QQ1M8
"There are a lot of potential exemptions, so I think safehaven flows into the yen have abated," said Roy Teo, investmentstrategist for LGT Bank in Singapore.
The U.S. dollar had tumbled to 16-month lows against thesafe-haven yen late last week as concerns about a trade wargripped markets after Trump initially announced his plan fortariffs on all imports of steel and aluminium.
The euro nursed its losses after falling on Thursday asEuropean Central Bank President Mario Draghi, whileacknowledging faster growth in Europe, said regional inflationremained subdued and rising protectionism is a risk.
Draghi expressed his view on these issues at his newsconference after a central bank policy meeting. It overshadowedthe ECB's dropping of a long-standing pledge to increase itsbond purchases if needed, a move that briefly spurred buying ofthe single currency. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1QQ1WR
The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.2296EUR= , after falling0.8 percent on Thursday.
Later on Friday, market participants will turn theirattention to the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision aswell as U.S. jobs data.
At the two-day meeting ending on Friday, the BOJ is widelyexpected to keep its monetary policy unchanged. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1QQ2AK (Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) ((masayuki.kitano@thomsonreuters.com; +65-6417-4682; ReutersMessaging: masayuki.kitano.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "FOREX-Yen sags on hopes for easing US-North Korea tensions"
Post a Comment