<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
By Rae Wee
SINGAPORE, May 5 (Reuters) - The yen was eyeing its
first weekly gain in nearly a month on Friday, driven by safe
haven demand as bank sector turmoil in the United States
unfolds, while the dollar fell as traders priced in more
aggressive rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The euro edged away from its recent one-year peak
and last stood at $1.1034, after the European Central Bank (ECB)
on Thursday slowed the pace of its interest rate increases with
a 25-basis-point hike.
While ECB President Christine Lagarde signalled more
tightening to come, markets pared back their expectations on how
much further rates would continue to rise. "Lagarde was hawkish in her press conference, but I think
financial markets didn't really buy her view on further rate
rises in coming months," Carol Kong, a currency strategist at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said.
In the broader currency market, the yen was last
0.2% higher at 134.02 per dollar, and was headed for a weekly
gain of over 1.5%, snapping three straight weeks of losses.
"The Japanese yen has slowly gained back its appeal of safe
haven status, and has definitely been supported by concerns
about U.S. regional banks and the associated safe-haven demand,"
Kong said.
A deepening crisis across U.S. regional banks have kept
investors on tenterhooks, with pressure growing on U.S.
regulators to take more steps to shore up the sector.
Shares of PacWest Bancorp plunged on Thursday,
dragging other regional lenders down after the Los Angeles-based
bank's plan to explore strategic options heightened investor
fears.
Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank Group on Thursday
also called off its $13.4 billion takeover of First Horizon Corp , in another sign of stress within the sector.
Traders have since priced in more aggressive rate cuts from
the Fed, with Fed funds futures implying a small chance that
cuts could come as soon as June and through to the end of the
year. That left the greenback broadly lower on Friday, with the
dollar index slipping 0.11% to 101.23.
Sterling rose 0.16% to $1.2595.
"For the Fed's June decision, inflation data and employment
indicators ... along with bank lending standards will be key to
watch. The debt ceiling negotiations are another important
risk," said Sonia Meskin, head of U.S. macro at BNY Mellon.
"We believe the Fed is unlikely to contemplate cutting rates
before 2024."
April's nonfarm payrolls report is due later on Friday, the
next major data point that will offer further clues on the Fed's
fight against inflation.
Data released earlier this week showed that the U.S.
services sector maintained a steady pace of growth in April,
suggesting that inflation remains sticky, while U.S. private
employers boosted hiring last month.
Down Under, the Australian dollar rose 0.26% to
$0.6711, while the kiwi touched a three-week high of
$0.6311.
The Reserve Bank of Australia, in a quarterly statement
on monetary policy on Friday, warned that risks to inflation
were on the upside given low productivity growth, rising energy
prices and a surge in rents as population growth outpaces all
expectations.
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