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Thursday April 25, 2024

Dollar weakens

By REUTERS
August 31, 2018

TOKYO: The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies struggled near a four-week low of 94.434 touched on Tuesday, dragged down by the pound´s rally.

It last traded at 94.585, up 0.07 percent on the day. The euro was steady at $1.170 after edging up 0.1 percent the previous day.

The dollar was flat at 111.63 yen after rising 0.4 percent overnight. "The dollar has been falling over the past these two weeks," said Tohru Sasaki, head of markets research at JPMorgan Chase Bank in Tokyo.

The British pound held firm in Asian trade on Thursday, after making its biggest gains in seven months the previous day, taking heart from the European Union´s offer of a post-Brexit ´partnership´. The pound surged as fears of a ´hard Brexit´ eased after Michel Barnier signalled an accommodative stance towards London in ongoing talks.

Barnier said that the bloc was prepared to offer Britain a partnership, though no "single market a la carte", which bolstered risk sentiment.

Sterling rose 0.08 percent to a four-week high of $1.3039, extending its gains after surging more than 1.2 percent overnight, its largest daily gain since Jan. 24.