Dollar rises in Asia on interest rate expectations

The dollar rose in Asia Monday as a strong jobs report in the U.S. lowered expectations for a cut in U.S. interest rates.

The dollar was trading at 119.32 yen midafternoon, up from 119.31 yen late Friday in New York, and from the 117-yen range early last week. The euro fell to US$1.3360 from US$1.3372.

Trading was quieter than usual because of the absence of Sydney, Hong Kong and European players, closed for Easter Monday.

Masashi Kurabe, senior manager at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ's foreign-exchange trading department, said the dollar was rising after data released Friday that showed stronger than expected U.S. job growth in March.

But investors were slightly cautious ahead of a meeting in Washington D.C., of finance officials from the Group of Seven industrialized economies, later this week, because European officials may grumble about the yen's weakness, dealers said.

"Such a sense of caution is likely to limit the dollar's upside for a while," said Kurabe, adding that the dollar is unlikely to top 120.5 yen.

The dollar was mixed against other regional currencies, climbing to 42.83 Indian rupee from 42.67 the previous session, while slipping to 33.042 Taiwan dollar from 33.083. It rose to 933.0 South Korean won from 931.8.