21 December 2005, 10:58  Forex - US dollar slightly higher vs yen in Singapore afternoon trade

The US dollar recovered against the yen in thin afternoon trading here after a mild bout of profit-taking, dealers said. At 2.15 pm (0615 GMT) here, the dollar was at 117.20 yen, up from 117.01 yen just over two hours earlier in Tokyo. The euro was at 1.1878 usd, up from 1.1868 usd in Tokyo. "Today is very quiet. It is typical year-end, pre-Christmas market trading," one currency dealer said. Profit-taking prevented the dollar from hitting 118 yen in the mid-afternoon here. Overnight, the strong US housing data for November helped the US dollar post some gains, fuelling hopes that any halt in interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve may be just temporary. US housing starts in the year to November rose to 2.123 mln, 5.3 pct more than the 2.017 mln in the year to October. "The market expects a pause, but with the interest rate differential still favoring the dollar, the dollar has still got underlying strength," the currency dealer said. The dealer expects the dollar to trade at 120-125 yen in the first quarter of 2006.

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