/www.fxserver.com/ The dollar was rangebound in midmorning trade, but its downside against the yen was supported by a weakness in the local equity market, which came despite the upturn on Wall Street overnight, dealers said.
Overall trading was light due to caution ahead of the release of key US economic data, such as July durable goods and August Conference Board survey of consumer confidence data, they said.
"Cautionary mood is strong ahead of the release of key economic data. But, unless economic data show big surprises, they are not likely to have a major impact on the trend of the dollar," said Masanori Hirabayashi, foreign exchange manager at Shinsei Bank.
"Rather, the movement of the dollar will continue to be dominated by the performance of Wall Street."
Nervousness over any political developments ahead of September 11, such as any possible move on Iraq, also weighed on the top-side of the dollar, dealers said.
Hirabayashi, however, said the dollar has a good chance of rising towards the 120.50, or even the 121.00 yen level in the short-term, citing improved sentiment towards the currency.
The euro was also locked in limited trading range ahead of the release of Ifo report, dealers said.
"Although the euro is not likely to suffer from sharp decline, it may gradually be pushed lower towards the mid-$96 level due to improved sentiment towards the dollar," Hirabayashi said.
Tokyo 10.00 am New York 3.18 pm London 4.59 pm
Dollar
yen 119.66 down from 119.67 119.57
sfr 1.5135 up from 1.5128 1.5122
Euro
usd 0.9723 down from 0.9726 0.9732
stg 0.6396 up from 0.6387 0.6386
yen 116.34 down from 116.38 116.34
sfr 1.4716 up from 1.4712 1.4716
Sterling
usd 1.5201 down from 1.5227 1.5233
yen 181.89 down from 182.21 182.17
sfr 2.3007 down from 2.3034 2.3044
Australian dollar
usd 0.5473 up from 0.5439 0.5444
stg 0.3600 up from 0.3572 0.3572
yen 65.49 up from 65.08 65.09
© AFX News