HONG KONG (Thomson Financial) - The dollar traded near a record low against the euro in afternoon trade in Asia Monday on growing speculation the US Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this week. The Fed is likely to trim rates for a second time this year to help its ailing financial sector, hit hard by unpaid housing mortgages, and keep the economy from slipping into a recession.
The Fed's policy making body, the Federal Open Market Committee, will start its meeting tomorrow and announce the results of its deliberations on Wednesday. 'Expectations of a rate cut and US economic weakness are weighing on the dollar,' said Callum Henderson, head of currency strategy at Standard Chartered Bank. (more)
Editor's Comment: The US dollar continues to sag against the Euro, making real estate in Panama even more attractive to European investors. (Article Continues)
At 1 pm (0500 GMT), the euro was quoted at 1.4413 dollars, after rising to an all-time high of 1.4426 in Tokyo earlier this morning.
The dollar was trading at 114.12 yen, unchanged from Sydney this morning.
Standard Chartered Bank expects the Fed to trim its benchmark rate by 25 basis points this week and another quarter point in December.
Last month, the Fed lowered its rates by a deep 50 basis points, sending the dollar to all-time lows against major currencies, including the euro.
Lower interest rates reduces the attraction of dollar-denominated assets such as US Treasuries, prompting investors to sell these securities and weakening the greenback.
'The market is confident about selling dollars as the Fed is expected to cut rates again,' said Kenichi Yumoto at Societe Generale's foreign exchange trading department.
'The dollar will be under pressure at least until the meeting as we are unlikely to see news that would wipe out uncertainty over the US economy by then,' Yumoto said.
The euro may go as high as 1.45 dollars this week, Standard Chartered Bank's Henderson said. The yen may trade in a range of 112.50 to 117 versus the dollar over the near term, he said.
There is no incentive for the yen to break from the forecast range because of a weak Japanese economy.
The International Monetary Fund predicts US economic growth to slow to 1.9 percent this year and in 2008, after expanding 2.9 percent in 2006.
The IMF forecasts the Japanese economy to grow 2 percent this year and 1.7 percent this year, after rising 2.2 percent last year. |
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