TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) -
* Prospect of more Fed aid to Wall St firms lifts dollar
* Oil retreat helps soothe economy concerns
* U.S. oil inventory data key for oil, dollar
The dollar was steady on Wednesday after rebounding the previous day when
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may extend its
direct lending to Wall Street investment banks, soothing some worries about the
financial system's health.
Bernanke said the Fed was watching financial markets closely and may keep
open the emergency lending facility for big Wall Street firms, which was
launched after the collapse of Bear Stearns, longer than initially planned.
[ID:nN08304308]
Those remarks helped relieve investors who were rattled on Monday by a
report that the top U.S. mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae Freddie Mac
Asian trade. [O/S]
The dollar has been stuck near a record low against the euro as investors
have fretted about steep oil prices, more subprime mortgage troubles at U.S.
banks and the Fed possibly keeping interest rates on hold in coming months to
nurture the economy.
Activity was subdued in Asia, as it has been over the past few weeks.
INVENTORY DATA WATCHED
Junya Tanase, a currency strategist at JPMorgan Chase in Tokyo, said the
weekly U.S. statistics on energy inventories later on Wednesday would likely be
key for oil prices, with any further drop cooling U.S. inflation expectations
and lifting the dollar.
The dollar was little changed at 107.45 yen News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
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