Modest US dollar weakness was theme......>

DOLLAR-YEN: Modest US dollar weakness was theme across the board in Asia,

dollar-yen slipped from Y112.31 to Y112.02 before reports of local corporate

demand cushioned falls. Recovery efforts squeezed to the Y112.20/25 area but

with lack of follow through drifted ahead of Europe. On the downside, a break of

Y112.00 opens tech support at Y111.96/82 (38.2% Y109.56-113.44, 200-dma), more

techs at Y111.50/48 (50% Y109.56-113.44 & Sep26 low, Sep25 low). Resistance at

Y112.52/59 (Oct12-11 highs), also worthy of note are option expiries through

Y112.50-70 totalling $2.78bn for today's NY cut. Narrow range trade expected to

continue this morning with main focus on US CPI & Retail Sales data as 1230GMT.

CPI is expected to rise 0.6% in September following a 0.4% energy-related rise

in August. Analysts expect energy prices to move even higher after August's 2.8%

surge, as the hurricanes impact. Analysts forecast Retail Sales to rebound by

1.9% in September, due to both strong recovery in vehicle sales and

hurricane-related increase in gasoline prices. Dollar-yen last Y112.12.