Asian currencies down in relation to US dollar; sterling lower

Story link: Asian currencies down in relation to US dollar; sterling lower

Asian currencies were down in relation to the US dollar on Tuesday. The yen fell 0.8 percent against the greenback to ¥111.54, besides falling 0.6 percent to ¥136.06 in relation to the euro. The yen’s problems seemed to be stem from weak economic data. Unemployment in Japan was up to 4.4 percent in July, after being at 4.2 percent in June. In addition, retail trade was weak and small business confidence was down. Some analysts expressed concern that the Japanese economic recovery might be running out of energy.

Among other Asian currencies, the Taiwan dollar lost 0.6 percent to the US dollar to T$32.615, a 9-month low. The South Korean won and the Singapore dollar each hit six-week lows against the US dollar. Singapore dollar sat at S$1.686 to the US dollar, while the South Korean was at Won1,034.1 in relation to the greenback.

Sterling was weak on the day, at least partly due to consumer credit figures that were seen by analysts as disappointing. The UK currency was down 0.6 percent to $1.7842 in relation to the US dollar, a three week low, and it lost 0.5 percent to £0.6837 against the euro.

The US dollar gained a bit on the euro, to $1.2197 as newly-released US consumer confidence figures were better than had been expected.