Dollar weak in Asia on Fed stimulus speculation

TOKYO: The dollar was weak in Asian trade Thursday with the unit under pressure after minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed the central bank tilting towards fresh stimulus measures.

The euro bought $1.2542 and 98.54 in Tokyo morning trade against $1.2522 and 98.34 yen late Wednesday in New York.

The dollar bought 78.54 yen against 78.53 yen in US trade.

The greenback was weighed by speculation of further Fed easing after minutes from its latest meeting showed policymakers could act "fairly soon" in the absence of rosy economic data for the world's biggest economy.

"Many members judged that additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon unless incoming information pointed to a substantial strengthening in the pace of the recovery," the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting said.

That was viewed by many to be the clearest sign yet that the Fed may ramp up bond buying or other measures to boost growth.

Markets would now turn their focus to new figures to be released on new US home sales, durable goods and weekly jobless claims, dealers said.

If the data were strong, speculation of further stimulus may recede and lessen downward pressure on the dollar, said Junichi Ishikawa, forex strategist at IG Market Securities in Tokyo.

"But if the economic indicators turn out weak, we could see the USD/JPY fall below 78," Ishikawa told Dow Jones Newswires.