TOKYO The euro rose in Tokyo late Tuesday on a rumor of fresh intervention to follow last week's stunning action by the world's leading Central Banks, AFP quoted dealers as saying. But it was struggling to hold its gains, they said.
The euro traded at 0.8779 dollars around 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT), up from 0.8739 dollars in New York late Monday but down slightly from 0.8784 dollars in late Tokyo trading.
The euro also bought 94.21 yen, down from 94.54 yen Monday afternoon here. "There was a rumor that authorities might intervene again, and investors, mostly European banks, rushed to buy the euro," said Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi dealer Kiyoshi Kuzuhara. "But the rumor was later proven wrong," he said. Earlier, the impact of Friday's coordinated Central Bank action had been subsiding and investors were returning their attention to relative economic strengths, said Fuji Bank dealer Hideyuki Tsukamoto. "Some investors are now voicing doubts about the concerted intervention," he said.
"When we look at structural growth rates, it is crystal-clear that the United States surpasses by far the European countries," Tsukamoto said. But Japan's Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa insisted the intervention by the European Central Bank, U.S.
Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan had been worthwhile. "The euro is now trading around 87 to 88 cents," Miyazawa told reporters.
"It seems to me that the market is taking our action seriously."