NEW YORK, MarketWatch (27/12) — The
dollar drifted toward 105 Japanese yen Thursday, though overall
foreign-exchange action remained limited with many markets still on
holiday.U.S. weekly jobless claims fell 42,000 to 338,000, marking the largest weekly drop since November 2012.The dollar rose to ¥104.69 from ¥104.27 late Tuesday, ahead of the
Christmas holiday .A push above ¥105 would be the first time the
currency has traded above that level since Oct. 3, 2008, according to
FactSet data. Japanese stocks extended their six-year high on Thursday
as the Nikkei Stock Average closed above 16,000.The Federal Reserve said last week it
would slow the rate of its bond purchases in January to $75 billion a
month. The decision marks the beginning of the end for its unprecedented
monetary stimulus, which has been understood to weigh on the dollar. At
the same time, many investors expect the Bank of Japan to ramp up its
monetary stimulus in 2014.The ICE dollar index, a measure of the U.S. unit against six other currencies, was quoted at 80.489 versus 80.507 late Tuesday. The WSJ Dollar Index was at 73.91 versus from 73.82 late Tuesday. The euro was little changed from its pre-holiday levels, buying $1.3690, compared to $1.3677 late Tuesday. European markets were closed Thursday.
