Dollar mixed in Asian afternoon trade

TOKYO: The dollar weakened against Australia's currency in Asia on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates to a new record low, while the US unit rebounded against the yen.

The greenback fetched 98.48 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 98.27 yen in New York on Monday afternoon, underpinned by higher risk appetite among investors as Tokyo stock prices turned up.

The euro was mixed at $1.3251 from $1.3259, and 130.41 yen from 130.30 yen.

The Australian dollar rose after the central bank cut interest rates to a record low of 2.5 percent, shaving 25 basis points off the previous rate.

The "Aussie" bought 89.84 US cents against 88.76 US cents Monday afternoon and 89.23 cents immediately before the rate decision with some investors expecting a more drastic 50-basis-point cut.

India's rupee, meanwhile, plunged to a fresh record low against the US dollar.

The rupee, Asia's worst-performing major currency this year, was at 61.45 to the dollar in afternoon trade against 60.91 Monday afternoon, after hitting a lifetime low of 61.51 earlier Tuesday.