newport international group economy news * Draghi says will monitor impact of euro strength * Yen on course to log seven straight weeks of fall * Pound recovers after incoming BoE chief drops no easing hint * Aussie rebounds on China data after hitting 3-month low TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The euro hovered near a two-week low on Friday after the European Central Bank chief voiced concern about the impact of the currency's recent strength on the economy in remarks that analysts said went further than they had expected. Mario Draghi said on Thursday that the exchange rate is important for growth and price stability and that he wants to see "whether the appreciation is sustained and will alter our risk assessment as far as price stability is concerned." Analysts said. The euro traded at $1.3405, close to its late U.S. levels after having fallen 0.9 percent on Thursday. At one point it fell as low as $1.33705, the lowest since Jan. 25. Draghi said economic activity in the euro area should recover gradually in 2013 but added there are more negative risks than positive. "I got the impression that he went into greater depth than expected...given that last month he just read out a G20 statement, when he was talking about currencies," said Teppei Ino, currency analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The euro also slipped to a two-week low against the British pound, which broadly strengthened after incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney gave no hints that he favoured immediate easing monetary policy. The pound also rose against the dollar to $1.5718, off a six-month low of $1.5630 hit earlier in the week. The single currency also slipped against the yen from a 33-month high of 127.71 yen set on Wednesday to trade at 125.40 yen...

1. **Economy News
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/08/markets-forex-idUSL4N0B81A120130208

2. FOREX-Euro near 2-week low after
Draghi cautions on its rise
* Draghi says will monitor impact of euro strength
* Yen on course to log seven straight weeks of fall
* Pound recovers after incoming BoE chief drops no easing hint
* Aussie rebounds on China data after hitting 3-month low
TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The euro hovered near a two-
week low on Friday after the European Central Bank chief voiced
concern about the impact of the currency's recent strength on the
economy in remarks that analysts said went further than they had
expected. Mario Draghi said on Thursday that the exchange rate
is important for growth and price stability and that he wants to
see "whether the appreciation is sustained and will alter our risk
assessment as far as price stability is concerned." Analysts said.

3. The euro traded at $1.3405, close to its late U.S. levels
after having fallen 0.9 percent on Thursday. At one point it fell as
low as $1.33705, the lowest since Jan. 25. Draghi said economic
activity in the euro area should recover gradually in 2013 but
added there are more negative risks than positive. "I got the
impression that he went into greater depth than expected...given
that last month he just read out a G20 statement, when he was
talking about currencies," said Teppei Ino, currency analyst at the
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. The euro also slipped to a two-
week low against the British pound, which broadly strengthened
after incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney gave no
hints that he favoured immediate easing monetary policy. The
pound also rose against the dollar to $1.5718, off a six-month low
of $1.5630 hit earlier in the week.

4. The single currency also slipped against the yen from a
33-month high of 127.71 yen set on Wednesday to trade at
125.40 yen. Still, despite the latest setback, the euro could be
supported by the perception that the ECB's policy easing bias is
much weaker than that at the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank
of Japan, said Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko
Securities. "When U.S. and Japanese central banks are expanding
their balance sheet, the ECB is shrinking its balance sheet. The
euro is likely to be firm unless we have a major surprise in Italian
election," he said. Polls have showed Italy's centre-left bloc is in
the lead to win the Feb. 24-25 election. But its narrowing lead
over the centre-right led by former prime minister Silvio
Berlusconi has unnerved investors on concerns that his policies,
such as tax-cut proposals, could undo the country's efforts to win
back investor confidence.

5. The yen edged up slightly from late U.S. levels on profit-
taking but is still on course to log seven straight weeks of losses
against the dollar, which would be the longest spell since 1989.
The dollar dipped 0.2 percent to 93.48 yen, as traders took profits
after its failure to convincingly break above a major resistance at
93.96, a 38.2 percent retracement of its 2007-2011 decline. But
it's still up 0.8 percent on the week. The dollar hit a 33-month
high of 94.075 earlier in the week as investors sold the yen on
expectations that Japan will pursue aggressive monetary easing to
shore up the economy. The country's deteriorating balance of
payment also weighed on the yen. Data showed Japan posted a
current account deficit for two months in a row in December, the
first time the balance turned red for two straight months in data
dating back to 1985.

6. The Australian dollar dropped to 3-month low of $1.0256
after the Reserve Bank of Australia trimmed its growth and
inflation forecasts, but the currency bounced back after strong
Chinese exports data. It last stood at $1.0295, up 0.15 percent
from late U.S. levels as data showed China's exports grew 25
percent in January from a year earlier, above expectations of 17
percent growth, adding to evidence of an economic rebound.
..end of slide