Business news

Dollar gains in thin New Year trade SINGAPORE — The dollar rose against the euro and yen yesterday in thin volume on the first trading day of the new year. The euro bought $1.3852 in Asian trade, down from $1.3969 late Wednesday in New York ahead of the New Year’s holiday on Thursday. Tokyo markets remained closed yesterday. The dollar traded at 91.14 yen, up from 90.63. Liquidity should gradually return to the market beginning next week, when traders will be closely watching key US economic data as well as comments from the US Federal Reserve, said Thomas Lam, senior treasury economist with United Overseas Bank Group. Next Friday the United States is to release December employment figures, which Lam sees falling by a further 500,000. “I think there might be some positioning early next week ahead of the employment number, which might put some pressure on the dollar,” he said. The US Federal Open Market Committee will on Tuesday release minutes of the December meeting at which it slashed its base lending rate to virtually zero. The central bank also pledged to take further action to get credit flowing and revive an economy in the worst recession in decades. “I think what the Fed says is likely to carry more weight than what the Fed does, going forward,” Lam said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             — AFP