Yen Rises on Economic Worries, ECB and BoE Eyed

The yen and the dollar rose against other major currencies on Thursday, recovering from losses made after a late rally in U.S. stocks the previous day.

Worries about a steeper global economic downturn remained strong after a slew of dismal data around the world, and kept demand intact for the low-yielding yen and the safe-haven greenback, traders said.

The Euro and the British pound stayed vulnerable before interest rate decisions by the central banks in the euro zone and Britain later in the day. Expectations are high that they will ease monetary policy aggressively to boost deteriorating economies and counter the threat of deflation.

"Having seen weak economic numbers coming one after another, it's difficult for market sentiment to improve dramatically," a senior trader at a major Japanese bank said.

Japanese capital spending fell in the third quarter from a year earlier, pointing to a downward revision in the country's third-quarter growth numbers due next week.

The euro was down 0.2 percent from late New York trade at $1.2690. The European Central Bank is seeing cutting rates on Thursday by at least 50 basis points to 2.75 percent, but many economists are expecting a 75 basis point cut.

Sterling edged down 0.1 percent to $1.4770, having pared some losses made after data showing that Britain's service sector shrank faster than expected in November.

The news boosted expectations that the Bank of England may slash rates by at least a full percentage point from 3.0 percent later in the day to shore up the domestic economy.

Traders said the euro and the pound could fall after expected large interest rate cuts due to their diminishing higher-yielding appeal.

But they may rebound quickly soon after because investors now reward currencies of countries that have been acting proactively to save the economy from a deep recession, traders said.

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The dollar edged down 0.1 percent to 93.17 yen, above a five-week low of 92.53 yen hit the previous session.

The New Zealand dollar was steady after the country's central bank cut interest rates by a record 150 basis points to 5.0 percent, as expected.

The kiwi was nearly flat at $0.5328, having trimming losses made after the rate decision.

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