http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DXY0&v=sLast trade 88.80 Change +0.29 (+0.33%)
Settle 88.51 Settle Time 23:36
Open 88.65 Previous Close 88.51
High 88.85 Low 88.49
Dollar Advances; U.S. Services Industry Growth May Accelerate
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aT.LqqjwueT4&refer=usApril 5 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose against the euro to close to its highest in four months on speculation a U.S. industry report will show growth in services industries accelerated last month.
The U.S. Institute for Supply Management's services index probably rose in March after slipping from a record pace a month earlier, according to the median of 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A similar index for the euro region is expected to fall. The reports may back speculation that U.S. interest rates are headed higher, while those in the euro area are headed lower.
``There are less and less arguments to buy euros,'' after Friday's U.S. employment report showed the biggest increase in jobs since April 2004, said Ian Gunner, head of currency research in London at Mellon Financial Corp. The euro may fall below $1.20 this week, he said.
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Euro `Less Attractive'
The euro-region's report may also fuel speculation that the European Central Bank will lower its 2 percent benchmark interest rate. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet on Saturday said interest rates may not stay ``fixed'' at their current level, already the lowest in more than half a century.
``The ECB is still trying to get its head around the fact it may have to lower rates,'' said Robert Rennie, currency strategist in Sydney at Westpac Banking Corp. ``The Fed is going to have to start raising rates. The euro is much less attractive than it was on Friday.''
A narrower gap between U.S. and European interest rates would undercut the attraction of buying euros. Demand for the dollar declined from June last year, when the Fed reduced the federal funds rate to 1 percent, half the ECB's benchmark rate and the lowest since 1958.
Demand for Yen
Trichet was blocked in a policy meeting Thursday by Dutch and German ECB members from cutting interest rates, the U.K. newspaper Daily Telegraph said.
Gains in the dollar against the yen may be limited by speculation that a strengthening economic recovery in the world's second-largest economy will keep luring overseas investors to buy yen to plow money into Japanese shares.
Japan's economy probably grew by almost 3 percent in the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with 1.2 percent a year ago, Economy Minister Heizo Takenaka said yesterday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 percent today, and is up 12 percent so far in 2004. Investors from outside Japan have been net buyers of stocks every week except one this year.
``The yen is under continued pressure to appreciate on the back of an capital inflow from overseas,'' said Junya Tanase, a currency analyst in Tokyo at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo.
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Dollar up, gold mixed in Europe
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0005_BC_Dollar-Gold&&news&newsflash-financialLONDON (AP) -- The U.S. dollar was higher Monday morning against most other major currencies in European trading. Gold prices were mixed.
The euro was quoted at $1.2095, down from $1.2116 Friday.
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Gold dealers in London fixed a recommended price of $420.55 bid per troy ounce at midmorning, up from $419.00 on Friday. In Zurich the bid was $419.35, down from $422.18. Hong Kong financial institutions, including the gold and stock markets, were closed Monday for a public holiday.
Silver opened in London at $8.25 bid per troy ounce, up from $8.17.
Global trade recovery still fragile, says WTO
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=565&fArticleId=393669Geneva - A weak dollar and buoyant activity in China helped global trade grow last year, but uncertainty about the US and European economies coupled with volatile oil prices could dampen prospects of further expansion, the World Trade Organisation said Monday.
In its annual assessment of trade flows, the WTO said world trade expanded by a higher-than-expected 4.5 percent in 2003, marking the second consecutive year of growth since it suddenly slumped in 2001.
Trade flows, however, remain below an average level of 6.7 percent achieved during the 1990s.
World merchandise exports rose by 16 percent to $7.3 trillion and service exports climbed 12 percent to $1.8 trillion, the highest annual increases in nominal terms.
"Clearly currency movements are part of this story, the weaker dollar and strengthened euro and yen to some extent," said Patrick Low, the Geneva-based WTO's chief economist.
The WTO predicted growth in global trade could return to 1990s' levels this year, with an increase of 7.5 percent forceast if the growth in gross domestic product worldwide reaches 3.7 percent.
But it warned the projections were risky, because of "the possibility of slower than expected import growth in the United States and a faltering in demand recovery in western Europe."
The unpredictable price of oil, which is projected to fall in 2004, was also a factor, the WTO said.
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GLOBAL MARKETS-Interest rate nerves unsettle investors
http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/newswire/2004/04/05/rtr1323187.htmlLONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Uncertainty about the prospects for interest rates left investors unsettled on Monday after last week's buoyant U.S. jobs data persuaded many that the world's biggest economy was no longer in danger of stalling.
The dollar got a boost against major currencies but European stocks were only slightly higher and demand for government debt focused on the euro zone and away from U.S. bonds.
Wall Street looked set for a soft start after some indices climbed sharply on Friday.
Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls data -- a surprisingly high 308,000 -- remained a focus, easing investors' concerns that a lack of jobs could undermine consumer confidence but raising the likelihood of higher U.S. interest rates.
"The payrolls data resolves the big puzzle and the big worry over the U.S. outlook. It means the (U.S. Federal Reserve) can now consider raising rates at some stage," said Aziz McMahon, currency strategist at ABN AMRO.
Higher rates and a sustainable economy would tend to support the dollar and drive demand away from U.S. bonds. It would also offer mixed blessing to equity markets.
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