Dollar falls versus majors in Asia

The dollar stuck near a one-month low against a basket of currencies and hovered near a record low versus the Swiss franc on Thursday, after more weak US data stoked jitters that the US economy's soft patch may become protracted. The euro edged up against the dollar but remained well below a recent four-week high, having taken a hit the previous day after Moody's Investors Service slashed Greece's credit rating by three notches deep into junk territory.
Data on Wednesday showed US companies hired far fewer workers than expected in May and output in the manufacturing sector slowed to its lowest since 2009, helping push 10-year US Treasury yields down to a six-month low below 3.0 percent and weighing on the dollar. "Looking at the recent data I don't think anyone is really expecting Friday's US employment data to be strong. Investors have already tried to price in possible low figures on Friday, selling the dollar," said Sumino Kamei, a senior currency analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "A lot will depend on whether yields on US debt stay depressed for a while longer or if yesterday's dip turns out to be only temporary," Kamei said. The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, stood at 74.827, having dipped as low as 74.306 on Wednesday, its lowest in about a month.
The euro edged up 0.2 percent to $1.4352, but remained well below a four-week high of $1.4459 hit on Wednesday on trading platform EBS. There was talk of stop-loss euro bids above $1.4400. On the downside, market players cited talk of light euro bids down to the low $1.4200s.
Traders said a break below $1.4271, a 38.2 percent retracement of the euro's rise from a two-month low hit in May to its four-week high on Wednesday, may hint at more weakness in the euro. The dollar rose 0.1 percent against the Swiss franc to 0.8431, not far from a record low of 0.8383 franc hit on Wednesday.
Against the yen, the dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 81.03 yen, having risen to 81.33 yen earlier on Thursday. The euro climbed 0.3 percent against the yen to 116.32 yen. A customer dealer for a major Japanese bank said the dollar was supported by bids from Japanese importers at levels between 80.00 and 80.50 yen, while some dollar offers were seen at levels above 81.50 yen.
Some traders said the yen came under some selling pressure from overseas speculative accounts ahead of a no-confidence vote against Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. But others said the yen took the political turmoil in its stride. Ahead of the vote, Kan said he would step down after handling issues related to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear crisis, and Kyodo news agency said the no confidence vote was certain to be rejected. The subdued reaction in the currency market contrasted with the reaction of Tokyo shares, which took a hit from worries about the growing political uncertainty.