Publications
Partners
Tokyo - The dollar held its gains against the euro on Tuesday as markets bet on a Federal Reserve rate hike next month, while emerging market currencies got a lift from optimism over the world's top economy.
Dealers are awaiting fresh economic data, including third-quarter US growth later on Tuesday, looking for the latest clues about the direction of Fed policy.
The greenback has rallied against its major peers on the prospect of a small increase in borrowing costs in December, a prospect boosted by comments from Fed officials including its chief Janet Yellen.
In a letter on Monday to consumer advocate Ralph Nader defending the Fed's near-zero rate policy, Yellen said more upbeat data would mean that "it will be appropriate to begin to normalise interest rates".
In Tokyo, the euro edged down to $1.0633 from $1.0636 on Monday in New York, while it also slipped to ¥130.52 from ¥130.64.
Washington's revised estimate of third-quarter growth is expected to be lifted to 2.0% from 1.5%.
"The rhetoric from the Fed suggests numbers would have to fall off a cliff to stop an interest-rate rise in December," Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets, told Bloomberg News.
A rate rise would tend to lift the dollar.
However, the US unit struggled against higher-yielding, or riskier, emerging currencies, with Malaysia's ringgit jumping nearly one percent on the back of higher crude prices. Oil is a key export for Malaysia.
The South Korean won added 0.44% and the Taiwan dollar was up 0.27%, while the Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar and Thai baht were also up.
The dollar weakened to ¥122.73 from ¥122.83 on Monday in New York.
