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IMM currency futures close mixed in light trade

CHICAGO: IMM currency futures ended mixed on Thursday in light dealings that kept prices in narrow ranges.

The March euro erased losses late, clearing resistance near $1.01350 to close higher after US equities markets flattened, analysts said.

The contract had been pressured early by cross selling against sterling and yen, trading down to just above the contract low of $1.00700.

"For lack of further information on how to trade, the euro seems to have squeezed a little bit higher and bounced off yet another attempt at parity," said Sean Callow, currency strategist at IDEAglobal.com.

"I don't think that anybody's got the guts to have a real go at parity at this stage," Callow said. "It's bounced off so many times that it'll take something fresh and significant for it to break through."

March yen closed lower, pressured by fund selling ahead of the new year, traders said. The contract hit sell stops at $0.009875.

Still, overall optimism regarding Asian equity markets helped curtailed selling interest.

"The yen is very much within its recent ranges. I don't think the slight uptick in dollar/yen is significant in terms of people's attitudes toward Asia or Japan," Callow said.

Sentiment that commodity prices will increase will likely lead to a rally in the Australian and Canadian dollars early next year, traders said.

US economic data had little market impact.

Jobless claims for the week ended December 25 were 274,000, near expected. The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago current business conditions index fell to 54.6 in December from 56.8 last month.

Friday's trading session will end at noon CST (1800 GMT) ahead of New Year's Day. Trading will resume on Sunday, January 2, on GLOBEX2 at 5:30 p.m. CST (2330 GMT).

At settlement, March yen was $0.000034 lower at $0.009864, euros up $0.00310 at $1.01400, Swiss francs up $0.0019 at $0.6327, sterling down $0.0018 at $1.6174, Canadian dollars off $0.0001 at $0.6894, Australian dollars up $0.0013 at $0.6546 and Mexican pesos down $0.000025 at $0.102600.-Reuters