| Kenya: Exporters Plan to Switch to Euro As Dollar Wavers
A dilemma is facing exporters of coffee, tea and horticultural products over which currency to peg their trading on following the erratic behaviour of the dollar that has left them smarting from foreign exchange losses. The exporters have for decades traded in the dollar but because their main market is Europe, there appears to be a natural fit with the Euro. .
Rupee stronger by 11 paise vs dollar
The rupee appreciated sharply and was quoted 11 paise higher against the US currency during Thursday morning trading on the back of a sharp rally in Asian equity markets and absence of dollar buying. In a fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local currency resumed firm at 39.5150/5250 a dollar from the previous close of 39.57/58 a dollar and later surge to 39.4560/4650 a dollar in late morning deals. Forex dealers attributed smart recovery in the rupee value against dollar to a strong rally in equity markets across the globe. The rupee bounced this morning as equity markets showed stability, dealers said. Indian benchmark Sensex was up 591 points during morning trade while Asian indices gained about 1.5 to 4.0 per cent in early trade following an upswing in American stocks on Wednesday.
Dollar Up Vs Euro, Rebounding From Sharp Drop Overnight
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The dollar is stronger against the euro early Friday in New York, even after some huge swings in holiday-thinned overnight trading that pushed the euro to within touching distance of the key $1.50 level. Continued credit markets fears and worries of more Federal Reserve rate cuts pushed the single currency as high as $1.4968, a record high, during sparse Asian trading Friday in which Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. But profit-taking quickly ensued, allowing the dollar to reverse course, and then some. The euro fell to as low as $1.4784 before the North American session began. "It is difficult to find much rhyme or reason in (Friday's) wild price action in the foreign exchange market," said Marc Chandler, global head of foreign exchange at Brown Brothers Harriman.
Military incursion may weaken YTL
No prime minister in Turkey's history has done more to make lira stronger in the foreign exchange market than Recep Tayyip Erdoan. Traders now bet his threat to invade northern Iraq will turn it into a laggard. The Turkish lira (YTL) has fallen 0.6 percent since Oct. 9, when Erdoan told the military to prepare to strike bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The decision ended the big rally in YTL, breaking the momentum that made it the best performer this year among 26 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg. Trading in options shows YTL is now the riskiest currency over the next two months. YTL's 19 percent appreciation this year to a record 1.18 versus the dollar reflects Erdoan's success in attracting investors and tourists to Turkey. The economy more than doubled since he was elected in 2003, and the benchmark Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB-100) has risen five-fold.
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