* G20 vows to refrain from competitive devaluations
* Market awaits further clues on possible Fed easing
* Yen at 15-yr high; euro gains seen capped by options
(Updates prices, adds detail, comment)
NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a fresh
15-year low against the yen on Monday in a broad sell off after
a Group of 20 agreement to shun competitive currency
devaluations and allow market forces to set exchange rates.
At the meeting in South Korea, G20 finance chiefs struck a
surprise deal to give emerging nations a bigger voice in the
International Monetary Fund, recognising the quickening shift
in economic power away from Western industrial nations.
[]
Analysts said the outcome pointed to a status quo in
currency markets, with the dollar staying under pressure due to
expectations for the Federal Reserve to unveil a second round
of quantitative easing as early as its Nov. 2-3 meeting.
The G20 statement "didn't go far enough as saying countries
won't devalue their currencies so we saw the yen go to a fresh
15-year high," said John Doyle, strategist at Tempus Consulting
in Washington. "The focus now is on the Fed's November 3
meeting and expectations of further quantitative easing."
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G20 PDF file at http://r.reuters.com/nan99p
For an FX column on the Fed, click on []
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The dollar index, which measures its value against a basket
of currencies, dropped 0.6 percent to 76.922 <.DXY>, but
support was seen around its 10-month low of 76.14.
The dollar fell over 1 percent against the yen to 80.41 yen
on electronic trading platform EBS <JPY=EBS>, its lowest in 15
years. Market players said chances of Japanese yen-selling
intervention would increase if the dollar fell below 80.00 yen
and tests its record low of 79.75 yen.
In early New York trade the dollar was last at 80.55 yen
<JPY=, hovering near the strike price of options at 80.50 yen
due to expire later in the day.
The euro climbed 0.5 percent to $1.4021 <EUR=>, having
risen as high as $1.4080 and breaking through resistance at
$1.4051. The move was significant as the euro had failed
several times in recent days to break through and hold the
$1.4000 level.
The euro rally on Monday marked the 76.4 percent
retracement of the euro's drop to $1.3697 last week from an
8-1/2 month high of $1.4161 hit earlier this month.
Some traders expect $1.4161 to be reached soon. But gains
above there were likely to be checked due to the presence of
some large option barriers, including a one-touch option
barrier at $1.4215 that is set to expire on Wednesday.
That could lead to a stronger-than-usual defense of that
level with the barrier payout said to be a massive 30 million
euros. Normal option payouts are usually in the order of 3-5
million euros.
One trader said real money accounts and trend-following
commodity trading advisers were seen buying the euro and the
Australian dollar, while another cited buying of the euro and
the Australian dollar by Asian accounts.
The Australian dollar surged roughly 1.2 percent to $0.9948
<AUD=D4>, boosted by news that Singapore Exchange <SGXL.SI>
will buy Australian bourse operator ASX <ASX.AX>, and
expectations of a rate increase early next month.
[].
FOCUS ON FED
That was in sharp contrast to the U.S. where the Federal
Reserve looks set to ease monetary policy further.
While U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated
that the United States supports a strong dollar at the G20
meeting, there were few takers for that.
"It is one thing for the Treasury to say that, but then the
Fed holds all the ammunition and when it is set to print more
money, the dollar will remain a weakened currency," said Jane
Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs said the Fed is almost certain to
announce renewed monetary easing at next week's policy meeting.
They said it may announce $500 billion in asset purchases or a
bit more over a period of about six months, and the size could
eventually reach $2 trillion.
In a Reuters poll earlier this month, U.S. primary dealers
projected the size of quantitative easing in a range of $500
billion to $1.5 trillion [].
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in London)
(Reporting by Nick Olivari); Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)
