Dollar up from historic low against yen

TOKYO: The dollar clawed back ground against the yen on Monday after hitting a historic low last week, as Tokyo upped its rhetoric over the domestic unit and indicated its willingness to intervene to stem its rise.

The dollar firmed to 76.62 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 76.50 yen in New York late Friday, after the greenback fell to a post-war low of 75.95.

The euro eased to $1.4380 from $1.4398. The European common currency was almost flat at 110.18 yen against 110.15 yen.

The dollar's slump on Friday beat its previous post-World War II low of 76.25, which it reached days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

The Japanese currency, seen as a safe-haven unit together with the Swiss franc, have attracted purchases amid deepening concern about faltering growth in the United States and the eurozone's debt crisis, dealers said.

Against the Swiss unit, the greenback firmed to 0.7866 francs from 0.7849 in New York.

The Swiss currency strengthened to 1.1308 per euro, compared with 1.1381 francs late Friday in Tokyo.

Local media reported over the weekend that Japanese authorities are ready to take action against a further surge in the yen, including market intervention to sell the unit.

The reports said the Japanese central bank is also considering further monetary easing.

Because a strong yen hurts Japanese exporters leading the nation's recovery from the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Japan stepped into the foreign exchange market earlier this month to sell yen and buy dollars.

Tokyo has previously signalled that it may do so again.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda stepped up his rhetoric Monday against the yen's rise. "I'm worried that recent one-sided yen moves have been strengthening," Noda said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"I will take decisive actions if necessary without excluding any possible measures, while watching even more closely if there are any speculative movements," he told reporters.

"Investors remain jittery following media reports about the authorities' possible countermeasures," against the strong yen, said Tomohiro Ishikawa, dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking.

"While they are cautious about the Japanese authorities' stance, the dollar's underlying weakness is unlikely to be reversed" ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later this week, Ishikawa said.

The dollar came under renewed pressure after the Fed pledged earlier this month to hold interest rates near zero for two more years to counter an economy facing increased risks of stalling.

With attention on Bernanke's speech at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole Friday, Credit Agricole said it believes "there is currently a high hurdle for QE3 and therefore another measure to promote stronger economic recovery is more likely."