* Aussie hits 7-month highs vs yen, dollar after jobs data
* Aussie April employment jumps against all expectations
* Kiwi up as Q1 unemployment figures were not bad as feared
* Focus on whether ECB will announce unconventional measures
By Satomi Noguchi
TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - The yen fell against other major
currencies on Thursday, hitting a seven-month low versus the
Australian dollar as surprisingly strong regional jobs data
boosted hopes that the worst of the global economic crisis may be
over.
Gains in Australian employment and better-than-expected
unemployment figures from New Zealand stepped up yen-selling
momentum that taken an early lead from a flurry of reassuring
news about U.S. bank stress tests ahead of their official
announcement.
"Risk appetite reigned supreme in Asia as the market
continues with its glass half full attitude," said Sue Trinh,
senior currency strategist at Royal Bank of Canada.
"The drip feed of bank stress test results which will be
formally unveiled after the U.S. markets close later tonight has
been absorbed well by the market," she said in a note to clients.
Market focus was turning towards Europe as investors braced
for a European Central Bank policy decision later in the day to
see how far the central bank will move on possible "alternative
measures" to get the euro zone economy back on its feet.
[]
The euro fell against the dollar and touched 10-week trough
versus the pound. The ECB is widely expected to cut interest
rates to a record low of 1.0 percent, possibly the final cut in
the cycle.
For a graphic link
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/RNGS/MAY/RATE.jpg
The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.3295 <EUR=>, below a
one-month high of $1.3439 hit on Tuesday on EBS. It was nearly
flat at 131.05 yen <EURJPY=> in choppy trade below an earlier
high of 131.54 yen on trading platform EBS.
The Australian dollar rose as high as 74.63 yen, a
seven-month peak according to Reuters data, after data showed
Australian employment gained against all expectations and threw
doubt on the need for further interest rate cuts. []
[]
It later retreated to 74.15 yen <AUDJPY=R>, but was still up
1 percent from late U.S. trade on Wednesday.
It climbed 0.8 percent to $ 0.7530 <AUD=D4> after touching
$0.7563, its highest since early October.
The New Zealand dollar was up 0.9 percent to 57.90 yen
<NZDJPY=R> and rose 0.6 percent at $0.5880 <NZD=D4> after the
jobless rate rose to 5 percent in the first quarter, below market
expectations of 5.3 percent. [] []
The dollar rose 0.4 percent to 98.76 yen <JPY=>.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday
that none of the 19 banks being examined under stress tests are
at risk of insolvency. [] The bank stress tests
results are scheduled to be released at 2100 GMT on Thursday.
[]
Regulators have told Bank of America <BAC.N> it needs $34
billion of capital, while Citigroup <C.N> needs $5 billion and
auto and mortgage lender GMAC LLC <GM.N>[] needs $11.5
billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The pace of private-sector U.S. job losses slowed drastically
in April in figures that precede Friday's more comprehensive
non-farm payrolls report by the government. []
The market also awaits policy announcements by the Bank of
England (BoE) later on Thursday.
The BoE is seen holding rates at 0.5 percent, a record low,
and likely holding off on announcing fresh plans to boost the
supply of credit. []
The euro fell as low as 87.65 pence <EURGBP=D4>, its lowest
since February 24, down 0.4 percent on the day.
(Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
