By James Thornhill, BridgeNews
New York--Jan. 17
The dollar clawed back early Asian losses to trade firmer against the yen and euro overnight. Dollar/yen recouped over one yen off a six-day low of 116.90 on U.S. and Swiss name demand, while euro/dollar pulled back around 3/4 of a cent off a high of 94.50 cents led by sales from a U.S. moneycenter bank.
* * * Dollar/Swiss franc mirrored euro/dollar, recovering around one centime off a low of 1.6305. Sterling/dollar held to a narrow range inside Tuesday's $1.4671-$1.4786 band.
Meanwhile, dollar/Canada extended Tuesday's rally up to a 20-day high of 1.5086.
A busy day on the U.S. data front sees the December consumer price index (0830 ET), December industrial production (0915 ET) and the Federal Reserve's beige book at 1400 ET.
However, closer scrutiny may fall on Treasury Secretary-nominee Paul O'Neill's testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, starting 0930 ET. Dealers will be listening closely for a reaffirmation of the strong dollar policy after recent rumors that O'Neill was only lukewarm in its support. Philadelphia Fed president Anthony Santomero speaks at 0815 ET, with Chicago Fed president Michael Moskow speaking in Asia later tonite.