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TOKYO: The dollar climbed against the euro and yen in Asian trade on Wednesday as better-than-expected US manufacturing data gave the greenback a boost.
The dollar was changing hands at 80.20 yen in early Tokyo trade, compared with 80.13 yen late Tuesday in New York.
On Monday, the US unit fell to its lowest level in more than two months against the yen, trading below the psychologically important 80-yen level.
The euro on Wednesday bought $1.3217 and 105.98 yen against $1.3234 and 106.05 yen in New York.
The dollar will likely strengthen further against the yen if a US jobs report due later in the day meets market expectations, said Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
The greenback is also expected to remain steady against the euro until there is more certainty over the outcome of a presidential election in France and the economic outlook in the eurozone, including debt-hit Greece's efforts to rein in its public debt, said Stuart Ive, a senior trader at HiFX in Auckland.
“I think it will remain relatively rangebound until we find out who has won (the presidential election) in France, (and) what the Greeks are going to do,”he said.
The US Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose for the second straight month in April, to 54.8 percent, from 53.4 percent in March.
The sharp gain was unexpected with analysts forecasting that the reading would fall to 53.0 percent before official figures were released on Tuesday.
The manufacturing sector has been a driver of the US recovery from the deep 2008-2009 recession.
But a string of poor economic and financial news from the eurozone and elevated oil prices cast a cloud over expectations, the institute had said.
