Dollar holds up in Asia ahead of Fed minutes release


(MENAFN- AFP) The dollar held up in Asia on Monday after rallying on strong jobs data last week, as investors awaited minutes of the most recent meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers.

The greenback bought 102.11 yen in Tokyo afternoon, little changed from 102.08 yen on Friday.

The euro bought $1.3584 and 138.74 yen on Monday, against $1.3610 and 138.89 yen on Friday in Tokyo.

New York markets were closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

In other trading, the Indonesian rupiah surged against the dollar two days before the nation faced its most pivotal presidential election since the downfall of the dictator Suharto in 1998.

The dollar bought 11,726.30 rupiah Monday afternoon, down from 11,886.50 rupiah on Friday, after hitting a one-month low of 11,680.00 rupiah earlier Monday.

The US unit, however, won some support after an encouraging US jobs report on Thursday pointed to a stronger economy and a possible early interest rate rise.

After the extended US weekend, attention has shifted to Wednesday's minutes release.

"The minutes are expected to provide more insight into why some Fed officials raised their interest rate projections, as well as an update on the Fed's latest thinking on its exit strategy" from stimulus measures, Capital Economics said in a note.

At the June 17-18 meeting, the Federal Reserve slashed its 2014 growth forecast for the US economy after a severe winter but kept policy on hold, showing faith in a modest rebound.

The dollar was mixed against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It slipped to Sg$1.2464 from Sg$1.2467 on Friday, and to 43.47 Philippine pesos from 43.55 pesos.

The greenback inched up to 32.39 Thai baht from 32.38 baht, to 1,009.65 South Korean won from 1,008.75 won, to 59.88 Indian rupees from 59.70 rupees, and to Tw$29.89 from Tw$29.87.

The Australian dollar eased to 93.58 US cents from 93.63 cents, while the Chinese yuan was unchanged at 16.44 yen.

- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report -


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