NEWS / Foreign Exchange

Euro in all time high against yen

Euro in all time high against yen

The euro struck a two-year high against the dollar and a fresh record high against the yen on Thursday, getting a boost on hopes the European Central Bank will signal the need for higher interest rates later in the day..

The ECB meets later in the day and is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 3.75 %, but investors are looking for ECB President Jean- Claude Trichet to give some signal that rates will rise to 4.0 % by June or possibly as soon as next month.

EURJPY traded between 160.29 and 160.85.

Australian jobless rate drops

Australian employment rose slightly less than expected in March but full-time jobs jumped and the unemployment rate dipped to match three-decade lows, keeping upward pressure on interest rates.

AUDUSD traded between 0.8233 and 0.8273.

Nikkei fell together with Wall Street

Asian stocks fell on Thursday with shares of some exporters, such as Canon dented by concern about the economic outlook for the United States, the largest overseas market for Asia's products.

The release of minutes from last month's meeting of the U.S.Federal Reserve hinted at the need for further interest rate increases, added to worry about the risks of inflation and slower economic growth.

CPI forecast from Bank of Japan

The Bank of Japan will forecast core consumer price growth of around 0.2 % to 0.3 % for fiscal 2007/08 in its twice-yearly economic and price outlook report due out on April 27, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.

The forecast for the core consumer price index (CPI) is lower than an estimate of 0.5 % growth made in the previous semiannual outlook report issued in October.

Nestle to buy Gerber

In buying the Gerber Products Co. business from Novartis AG, Nestl?© SA is getting the baby-food brand it has coveted for more than a decade.

Nestl?© is expected to announce today that it is buying Gerber from the Swiss pharmaceuticals company for about USD 5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The two companies had been expected to reach a deal.