Euro steady against dollar
AFP, London
The euro stood close to a one-month high point against the dollar on Monday, while the yen firmed as Japan prepared for its first rate rise for almost six years, dealers said. The euro stood at 1.2805 dollars in early European trading from 1.2807 dollars late on Friday. The dollar eased to 113.60 yen from 113.99 yen on Friday. On Friday, the euro had struck 1.2861 dollars, the highest point for one month, after weaker-than-expected US job growth in June which reduced the prospect of further US rate hikes. Markets were braced for an expected rise for Japanese borrowing costs later this week. A senior currency economist at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London, Derek Halpenny, said: "The disappointing non-farm payroll reading reported on Friday of just 121,000 compared to expectations of a gain well above 200,000 has triggered a renewed bout of dollar selling in the foreign exchange market.
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