Euro rises as strong Singapore data

The euro rose against other currencies in Asia on Wednesday after strong Singapore growth data boosted confidence in the global economy and encouraged greater risk appetite, dealers said. The euro rose to 1.3650 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade from 1.3616 dollars in New York late Tuesday, and to 127.28 yen from 126.86 yen. The dollar edged up to 93.24 yen from 93.15 yen in New York.
Singapore said Wednesday it expects the economy to expand up to 9.0 percent this year, sharply raising its forecast as the city-state staged a dramatic turnaround from recession. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said separately it was adopting a tighter monetary policy stance to tame inflation as the economic recovery gains traction. "All the euro's ascent today can be explained just by the MAS and GDP," Hiroshi Maeba, a senior dealer at Nomura Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar fell to 1.3766 Singapore dollars from 1.3926 the previous day. The euro is likely to keep rising for the time being, but investors should be cautious that any negative news about Greece's debt likely to hit the single currency, Maeba said. A jump in the US trade deficit had little impact on the dollar versus the euro, which has been buoyed by news that the other members of the eurozone would provide Greece with a safety net, said analysts. The Federal Reserve was to release its Beige Book take on the US economic outlook, while Bernanke was due to testify before a congressional panel in Washington. US retail sales for March were also to be released.
The dollar was hardly affected after China said it would not bow to pressure to readjust the value of the yuan, rebuffing a call from US President Barack Obama who said the currency was "undervalued." Market players believe China will have to tolerate the yuan's rise in the future. China will have to let the yuan rise out of "political consideration," said Credit Suisse economist Hiromichi Shirakawa.
"But it would be by a small margin, which would make little impact on real economic activity," he said. The dollar was broadly lower against Asian currencies. The greenback fell to 31.44 Taiwan dollars from 31.56 and to 44.51 Philippine pesos from 44.78. It also sank to 1,113.40 South Korean won from 1,123.40, to 32.25 Thai baht from 32.33, and to 9,008 Indonesian rupiah from 9,030.