3 September 2002, 08:48  Forex - Dollar lower in midmorning Tokyo ahead of Sept 11 anniversary

/www.fxserver.com/ The dollar was pushed lower against other currencies in midmorning trade, hit by growing caution ahead of the approaching anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, dealers said.
"As the anniversary gets closer, people are feeling a stronger risk of buying into the dollar," said Ryohei Muramatsu, foreign exchange manager at Commerzbank.
The US currency was also pressured by speculation in the market that US secretary of state Colin Powell is considering stepping down, dealers said.
In addition, the weak performance of the Nasdaq 100 futures contract is adding to the negative sentiment towards the US currency, they noted.
The sharp fall of the Nikkei 225 index to a new post-bubble economy low this morning, however, provided some downside support to the dollar, dealers added.
"However, the decline on the local equity market, which was driven partly by concerns over prospects for the US equity market, is not likely to be able to serve as a strong support factor," Muramatsu said.
Investors also refrained from taking further fresh positions on the dollar/yen ahead of the release of key US economic figures, such as ISM and non-farm payroll data, dealers said.
Concerns over possible verbal intervention by Japanese authorities also prevented the dollar from extending its declines sharply below the 118 yen level, they added.
The euro was firmer against the dollar due to growing concerns over possible 'event risk' in the US ahead of the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, together with renewed concerns over the outlook for the US economy and equity markets, dealers said.
"At least, until the anniversary is out of the way, people do not dare to buy the dollar," Muramatsu said.
Tokyo 9.35 am London 3.37 pm London 12.10 pm
Dollar
yen 118.07 down from 118.12 118.24
sfr 1.4945 down from 1.4961 1.4985
Euro
usd 0.9846 up from 0.9836 0.9820
stg 0.6348 up from 0.6347 0.6342
yen 116.25 up from 116.18 116.12
sfr 1.4714 down from 1.4716 1.4715
Sterling
usd 1.5511 up from 1.5500 1.5485
yen 183.14 up from 183.08 183.09
sfr 2.3181 down from 2.3188 2.3198
Australian dollar
usd 0.5510 down from 0.5517 0.5510
stg 0.3552 down from 0.3559 0.3559
yen 65.06 down from 65.17 65.15
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