By Gina Lee
Investing.com – The dollar was up on Thursday morning in Asia. The euro held at a one-month high against the dollar, after rallying over hopes that the war in Ukraine could be entering a new de-escalating phase. The Japanese yen was set for its worst month since November 2016.
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies edged up 0.12% to 97.990 by 12:08 PM ET (4:08 AM GMT).
The USD/JPY pair was up 0.39% to 122.28.
The AUD/USD pair was down 0.29% to 0.7488 and the NZD/USD pair was down 0.24% to 0.6958.
The USD/CNY pair inched up 0.03% to 6.3493. Data released earlier in the day showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) was 49.5, while the non-manufacturing PMI was 48.4, in March 2022. The Caixin manufacturing PMI is due on Friday.
The GBP/USD pair edged down 0.10% to 1.3117.
The European single currency was at $1.1175, holding its highest in a month, and has gained 1.7%in the week to date.
"The euro has been one of the biggest winners over the past sessions, part of that reflects the positive news about the Russia Ukraine tensions," Commonwealth Bank of Australia) (CBA) FX strategist Carol Kong told Reuters.
Sustained euro gains would be dependent on further developments in Ukraine, she added.
There was little breakthrough at peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that began earlier in the week. Russia said it would curtail operations near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, a little over a month since it invaded Ukraine on Feb 24. However, the pledge was met with skepticism from Ukraine and Western allies, who view it as a ploy to cut losses and prepare for other attacks.
Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks in the east of the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
The euro’s gains, as well as a brief recovery for the yen and strengthening commodity currencies such as the Canadian dollar, meant the dollar index dropped to its lowest level in three weeks overnight. However, the yen resumed its decline on Thursday with the dollar gaining 0.5% to as high as 122.45 yen.
The Japanese currency fell sharply in March, dropping to its lowest since November 2015 on Monday, before recovering slightly over the following days.
The Bank of Japan’s intervention to prevent government bond yields from rising too high is in stark contrast to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s approach. Japan’s dovish approach set the yen on a downward trend, and it is set for its worst month since November 2016. Thursday's moves in Japanese assets are likely to be volatile as it is the end of the country’s fiscal year, CBA's Kong noted.
In cryptocurrency markets, bitcoin traded at $47,240, near its year-to-date high of $48,234 hit earlier in the week.