TOKYO (Dow Jones)--The possibility of China stepping up European bond purchases and easing risk aversion on the back of rises in Asian shares propelled the euro higher in Asia Thursday, but concerns over the Greek debt crisis have continued to unsettle investors and traders, limiting further gains in the single currency.
The euro earlier climbed after Wang Yong, a professor at the People's Bank of China's training institute in Zhengzhou, Henan province, wrote in the Shanghai Securities News that China should expand its purchases of euro-zone sovereign debt and should increase direct investment into Europe.
"The euro rose on this China-related news," said Yoshiko Takayasu, manager of foreign exchange sales at the Royal Bank of Canada in Tokyo. On top of this, she said rises in the Asian stock market also helped the euro advance.
"The market hasn't changed to a risk-taking mode, but the risk-averse trend that dominated yesterday was mitigated," she added.
At 0350 GMT, the euro was at $1.4146 from $1.4086 in late New York Wednesday, according to EBS via CQG. The dollar was at Y81.89 from Y81.96 while the euro was at Y115.84 from at Y115.45. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, was at 75.638 from 75.902.
Looking ahead, Takayasu said the Greek debt problem remains "a considerably unsettling factor and the prospect for any resolution to the issue isn't in sight, with opinions between the troika --IMF, the EU, and the ECB --remaining split" on how to bail out Greece, she said.
Takayasu said the market will keep a close eye on the finance ministers' meeting in the euro zone as well as the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting expected to be held in mid-June but there is uncertainty if they can come up with a concrete plan then.
Meanwhile, speculation of a rate hike by the ECB later this year was reignited by remarks by European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark who wrote in an article for the International Economy journal published Wednesday that the goal of preventing a financial meltdown has been achieved and "the time has come to return to normal."
Recent U.S. economic indicators showing sluggishness including Thursday's durable goods orders for April --which dropped 3.6% compared with a forecast of 2.1% decline --have raised the views that the Federal Reserve will put off raising interest rates until the first quarter or the second quarter, 2012, Takayasu said, adding that these in turn has supported the euro against the dollar above $1.400.
The dollar remained trapped in its recent range against the the yen, although bids are getting higher partly due to buying interest from Japanese importers and long-term based overseas investors, traders said.
The Australian dollar gained against the yen after better-than-expected Australian capital spending data. Private new capital spending on buildings and equipment rose 3.4% in the first quarter, compared to a 2.8% rise forecast.
Still, the outlook for the Aussie isn't as certain as before, said Teppei Ino, senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. "There is an emerging view that China's economy may be slowing down a little bit partly because of its tightening measures, and China is Australia's important trader partner," he added.
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 23:50 EDT / 0350 GMT
Latest Previous %Chg Daily Daily %Chg
2150 GMT High Low 12/31
USD/JPY Yen 81.85-88 81.94-99 -0.11 82.16 81.77 +0.78
EUR/USD Euro 1.4149-52 1.4087-91 +0.44 1.4175 1.4065 +5.83
GBP/USD Sterling 1.6312-16 1.6275-77 +0.23 1.6334 1.6270 +4.63
USD/CHF Swiss Franc 0.8713-17 0.8725-31 -0.14 0.8734 0.8703 -18.57
USD/CAD Canadian Dlr 0.9766-69 0.9770-77 -0.04 0.9794 0.9753 -2.63
AUD/USD Australian Dlr 1.0575-78 1.0528-31 +0.45 1.0602 1.0505 +8.06
NZD/USD New Zealand Dlr 0.8062-66 0.7975-80 +1.09 0.8073 0.7961 +3.53
Euro Rate
EUR/JPY Yen 115.81-85 115.45-50 +0.31 116.03 115.36 +6.65