Tokyo: The dollar and euro edged up against the yen in Asia on Monday, as confidence was boosted upbeat US jobs data that suggested a recovery in the world's number one economy is well on track.
The greenback changed hands at 102.52 yen in Tokyo midday trade against 102.50 yen in New York on Friday. The euro was slightly higher at $1.3644 and 139.88 yen against $1.3641 and 139.80 yen.
"Optimism over the global economy has been spreading gradually on financial markets and 'risk-on' mode is on a upward trend," Credit Suisse research analyst Hiromichi Shirakawa said in a note. "But there have been gradual downgrades by economists on the global economic outlook. We should pay attention to this gap," he added
Investors tend to sell the yen and move into riskier assets such as the dollar and euro as sentiment improves. On Friday the Labor Department said US employers created more than 200,000 jobs for the fourth straight month in May, showing the market was steadily improving.
That came a day after the European Central Bank unveiled a fresh batch of monetary easing measures to fight off deflation risks and kickstart the eurozone economy. Investors reacted little to revised data Monday that confirmed the Japanese economy saw its strongest expansion in more than two years during the first quarter of 2013.
The world's number-three economy grew 1.6 per cent between January and March, slightly faster than an initial estimate of 1.5 per cent. But the strong figures reflected a rush in consumer spending before an April 1 sales tax hike, which has since dented activity in the world's number three economy.
