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FOREX-Dollar off lows hit on Geithner remarks, yen dips

Published 03/25/2009, 09:15 PM
Updated 03/25/2009, 09:24 PM

* Dollar edges up vs yen, off previous day's lows vs euro

* Dollar fell Wednesday on Geithner comments on SDR

* Geithner said dollar to remain world's reserve currency

* Yen slips against higher-yielding currencies

By Masayuki Kitano

TOKYO, March 26 (Reuters) - The dollar rose against the yen on Thursday, having come off lows hit after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was open to expanding the use of the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights.

Investors initially interpreted Geithner's remarks on Wednesday as an endorsement of China's proposal this week to eventually replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency with the IMF's SDRs.

Geithner's comments pushed the dollar lower against the euro and the yen on Wednesday, although it regained ground after he said the dollar would keep its status as the top reserve currency for a long time.

Geithner was probably commenting on China's call for expanding use of the IMF's SDRs rather than about the notion that the SDR may eventually replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency, said Masafumi Yamamoto, head of foreign exchange strategy Japan at Royal Bank of Scotland.

"The remarks probably were not made from the standpoint of foreign exchange policy," Yamamoto said, adding that the Treasury secretary probably did not mean to affect moves in the dollar with his comments.

"It is hard for the United States to seek a stronger dollar, but at the same time, if they call for a weaker dollar that could make it hard for them to finance their (current account) deficit, as investors may shy away from buying Treasuries," Yamamoto said, adding that a higher dollar would hurt the trade competitiveness of U.S. goods.

The dollar rose 0.2 percent from late U.news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))

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