Dollar Rises against Yen on Firm US Economic Data

The dollar hovered not far from a two-week high to the yen on Friday after its biggest one-day gain against major peers in four weeks as firm US economic data all but eliminated fears of a recession. The greenback had been given an extra boost against the Japanese currency thanks to a surge in Treasury yields on Thursday as traders pared back bets the Federal Reserve would be forced into aggressive easing next month. Risk-sensitive currencies like sterling were firm as the improved economic outlook spurred a rally in equities. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers including the yen, sterling and euro, eased 0.12% to 102.92, but that followed a 0.41% overnight rally, the most since July 18. The dollar retreated 0.24% slightly to 148.935 yen , but was still close to Thursday's high of 149.40, a level last seen on Aug. 2. The 10-year Treasury yield edged down a little over 2 basis points to 3.9035% in Asian hours. Meanwhile, sterling rose 0.2% to $1.2879, building on its ove rnight 0.21% advance. The British currency got an additional boost from solid GDP figures on Thursday. The euro added 0.1% to $1.098225, following a 0.36% slide in the previous session. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar gained 0.33% to $0.6632, having advanced 0.2% the previous day after data showed a much-bigger-than-expected surge in jobs. New Zealand's dollar climbed 0.6% to $0.60205. Source : Qatar News Agency