TOKYO: The dollar rose against the euro in Asia on Wednesday as the market grew more optimistic about the US economic recovery, dealers said.
The euro fell to 1.3273 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade from 1.3303 dollars in New York late Tuesday. The single European currency sagged to 108.81 yen from 109.12 yen.
The US currency was range-bound against the yen, fetching 81.98 compared with 82.00 yen in New York.
The market gained confidence in the US economy after the Commerce Department reported Tuesday that factory orders for November rose 0.7 percent, beating forecasts of a 0.3 percent fall in orders.
"A series of upbeat US economic indicators released since late last year have provided a good reason to buy the dollar," said Yuichiro Harada, dealer at Mizuho Corporate Bank.
"The market is closely watching the employment report due out later this week," Harada told AFP.
The euro was under pressure on risk-aversion following overnight falls in prices of commodities such as crude oil and gold, dealers said.
"The euro was beaten down as the market became less tolerant to risks," Harada said.
"Since the new year started, there has scarcely been any more negative news concerning the eurozone debt crisis, but concerns persist in the market."
The greenback climbed against other Asian currencies. It rose to 1.2908 Singapore dollars from 1.2860 Tuesday, to 43.74 Philippine pesos from 43.66. It also firmed to 29.22 Taiwan dollars from 29.09, to 30.13 Thai baht from 30.04, and to 8,985.00 Indonesian rupiah from 8,975.00.
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