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Soft dollar hurting bond
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January 7, 1999: 9:22 a.m. ET
Treasurys dip as Japan's yen climbs again, despite hint of pull back on Wall St.
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A new bout of pressure on the dollar from Japan's yen hit U.S. Treasury prices Thursday despite early indications Wall Street stocks would open lower.
At around 9 a.m. ET, the benchmark 30-year Treasury issue was down 8/32 in price at 101-1/32, with the yield, which moves in the opposite direction, up to 5.18 percent.
Foremost in the minds of bond investors recently have been swings in stock prices and the U.S. dollar, with economic news shunted to the back seat.
In overnight trading, the dollar sank to a 27-month low against the Japanese yen but bounced up on reports that the Bank of Japan has intervened to prop up the dollar.
The dollar bounded back up and was recently quoted at 111.17 yen, down 1.81, after sinking to 109.77.
Top officials in Japan also have begun mentioning the need for American policy makers to step into currency markets to lift the dollar. A lower dollar hurts Japan's exports and could threaten recovery from lingering recession there.
The yen has been soaring in recent weeks on the heels of rising interest rates in Japan, which makes Japanese securities more attractive.
The new euro currency was down slightly against the dollar at $1.1660. Europe's stocks were experiencing a sharp pull-back from explosive early-week gains.
That mood of retreat appeared set to spill on to the Dow Jones industrials Thursday, based on early S&P Futures trading.
Strong stock prices in recent days have depleted the lure of bonds, which often are bought when more-fickle equity prices fall.
The Bank of England, meanwhile, continued a trend toward freer-flowing money, cutting interest rates for the fourth straight month.
The buzz about whether the U.S. Federal Reserve also will lower interest rates at its Feb. 3-4 meeting has been especially muted of late.
On the plate of U.S. economic data, first-time jobless claims came in at 350,000 last week, higher than analysts had expected.
A report on November factory orders is expected at 10 a.m., and projections are for an increase of 0.5 percent. 
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