Dollar higher as market awaits Japan PM speech

TOKYO: The dollar rose against the yen in Asia on Wednesday as investors await a speech by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his growth strategy for the economy.

The greenback bought 100.18 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 99.98 yen in New York late Tuesday while the euro also edged up to 130.96 yen from 130.79 yen.

The euro bought $1.3072 against $1.3079 in New York.

Abe is due to deliver a speech later Wednesday that observers hope will provide details on his policy to stoke growth.

"I'm guessing he might give lip service," a senior dealer at a major European bank in Tokyo told Dow Jones Newswires.

Abe's policy of active government spending coupled with the Bank of Japan's aggressive monetary easing has boosted Tokyo stock prices to multi-year highs, but the market has been prone to recent wild swings.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.23 percent in mid-morning trade Wednesday.

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Oil turns higher in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose in Asian trade Thursday, boosted by stronger US demand but caution over a slowing Chinese economy limited gains, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for delivery in July, added 30 cents to $94.04 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery gained 17 cents to $103.21.

"Prices have bounced up in reaction to a drop in US inventories," Kelly Teoh, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore, told.

"While the market has been very data-sensitive, the overall tone for commodities still remains soft."

The US Department of Energy on Wednesday said stockpiles in the United States plunged 6.3 million barrels in the week ended May 31, much more than analysts expected, with the average estimate pegged at a 400,000 drop.

A decline in stockpiles supports crude prices as it suggests a pick-up in demand, which traditionally rises during the US summer driving season when Americans take to the roads for their holidays.

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