//www.ananova.com//The dollar was rangebound in midmorning trade due to strong caution ahead of the release tomorrow of US non-farm payrolls data, dealers said. Tatsuro Karitani, foreign exchange dealer at Mizuho Corporate Bank, said that although the dollar steadied on the rebound on Wall Street overnight, the currency may come under fresh pressure following the jobs data. Wall Street economists forecast August payrolls will rise by 36,000 while projecting the unemployment rate will likely to hit 6.0%, its highest level since April.
"In addition, caution ahead of the Sept 11 anniversary and rising political tension in the Middle East will also continue to pressure sentiment towards the dollar," Karitani said. "In particular, Iraq-related news is likely to the key driving force for the dollar, given its impact on the US economy," he said, referring to concerns that any US action against Baghdad could hit oil prices badly. Karitani said he now expects the dollar to trade 0.98-1.01 against the euro in the near-term. The dollar was also rangebound against the yen due to a lack of follow-through short-covering after the modest rebound on Wall Street, dealers said.
Local investors are hesitant to take outright positions in the run-up to Intel's third quarter update later today and the release of the August non-farm payroll datas. "As long as participants focus on the US-related leads, any negative leads for Japan, such as falling share prices, are not likely to weaken the yen," Karitani said, adding that he expects the dollar/yen to trade 116-119 in the near-term. "However, if the Nikkei 225 index continues to fall towards such levels as 8,500 or 8,000, and if speculation about a collapse of major financial institutions emerge, then the yen may slip into a downward cycle," he said.

Dollar
yen 119.01 up from 117.99 118.15
sfr 1.4748 down from 1.4771 1.4755
Euro
usd 0.9916 down from 0.9927 0.9927
stg 0.6338 down from 0.6340 0.6351
yen 117.02 up from 116.99 117.26
sfr 1.4624 down from 1.4644 1.4645