* Dollar stays on defensive against the yen
* Asian stocks creep up as mixed U.S. data weighs
* Oil prices ease after touching $82 a barrel
By Susan Fenton
HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The dollar remained weak
against the yen early on Wednesday after falling sharply
overnight, while Asian stocks managed only modest gains as
mixed economic data made investors hesitant about the strength
of the U.S. recovery.
The dollar was quoted at 91.92 yen <JPY=> after falling to
as low as 91.25 in New York trade on an unexpected decline in
November pending U.S. homes sales, but remained well below a
three-month high of 93.22 yen hit earlier this week.
It was little changed against a basket of major currencies
<.DXY>.
Traders said the yen could come under pressure if Finance
Minister Hirohisa Fujii were to resign due to poor health, as
Japanese media have reported. []
That would deal a fresh blow for the government as it
struggles with a weak economy and huge public debt, but Japan's
stock and government bond markets remained calm.
"Fujii's resignation might be expected to lead to a weaker
yen, but since this hasn't happened, the stock market is
unlikely to respond much at this point either," said Masayoshi
Yano, an analyst at Meiwa Securities in Tokyo.
The benchmark Nikkei share index <> edged up 0.5
percent with resource-related shares continuing to rise on the
back of a surge in commodity and oil prices since the start of
the year.
Oil prices <CLc1>, however, eased 0.2 percent to $81.62 a
barrel following an unexpected increase in U.S. oil stocks,
after hitting $82 on Tuesday as frigid temperatures continued
in parts of the northern hemisphere.
WON INTERVENTION
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, which is trading at 17-month highs, rose 0.5
percent, extending gains over the past few days.
Wall Street gave mixed signals to investors overnight, with
the Dow Jones <> dipping 0.1 percent as upbeat factory
order data was offset by concerns about the U.S. housing market
following a slump in pending home sales. []
Markets were awaiting December employment data and the
minutes from last month's Federal Reserve meeting, due later on
Wednesday, for any clues about the health of the U.S. economy
and when the Federal Reserve might start to raise interest
rates. <ECONUS>
Investors are also awaiting key U.S. non-farm payroll data
on Friday. If the economy actually added jobs, as a minority
of
economists predict, it would provide a powerful jolt to what
has been a sluggish recovery.
Gold <XAU=> which has see-sawed this week in inverse
relation to the dollar, rose to $1,122.80 an ounce from
$1,118.10 at the New York close.
The precious metal rallied 25 percent last year as
investors bought it as a safe haven and as a hedge against a
declining dollar and inflation risk. But it is now well off a
record high $1,226.10 on Dec. 3 amid uncertainty about the
dollar's direction and on signs the global economy is
improving.
Asian currencies continue to benefit from rising risk
appetite and South Korean authorities were spotted intervening
for a second day to rein in the surging won <KRW=>.
The currency is trading at around 15-month highs as strong
economic data in the past week has raised interest rate rise
expectations ahead of a central bank meeting on Friday,
although many analysts expect the bank to keep rates on hold
until later this quarter.
Japanese government bonds edged lower, with the 10-year
yield <JP10YTN=JBTC> hitting a seven-week high, as caution
prevailed about a sale of 10-year debt, the first supply hurdle
for the market this year.
There was little immediate reaction to reports that Finance
Minister Fujii will quit. Traders said the focus is now
shifting to whether his successor can maintain the same kind of
fiscal restraint in face of political pressure to spend more on
economic stimulus projects, which would further inflate the
country's mountain of debt.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in TOKYO; Editing by
Kim Coghill)
(susan.fenton@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6367; Reuters
Messaging: susan.fenton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
