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Dollar dips slightly
A J
SYDNEY: A large sell order out of Tokyo put the
skids on an early market rally, bringing the Austra
lian dollar to a mildly weaker close.
Dealers said about $400 million may have been
sold for yen in the parcel. The currency peaked at
US67.30c before further selling emerged, limiting
any gains.
"Tokyo sparked the sell-off which took the cur
rency down to US66.95," said Rory Kennedy of
Standard Chartered Bank of Australia.
The local dollar ended at US67.06c from 67.07
here last.
"Most of the volumes today have been from
Tokyo life companies," another dealer said.
He said there was solid support for the Australian
dollar under the US67c level, which should hold.
"Local exporters and some fund managers are
happy to buy under the figure," he said.
"The US66.95c level is a base, but any rallies to
US67.30c will be capped."
Westpac Banking Corp said in a market commen
tary that a five-day coal mine strike which will shut
110 mines from last night could have an adverse
effect on the currency.
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