US dollar up against euro, yen

October 27, 2010 | 10:44

(0) user say

The US dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen on Tuesday after data showed a slight improvement in consumer confidence in the United States.

The euro was trading at $1.3857 around 2100 GMT, up from $1.3969 on Monday in New York.

The dollar rose to 81.43 against the Japanese yen from 80.82 on Monday.

The dollar has steadily sunk in recent weeks amid expectations the Federal Reserve will soon renew asset purchasing to boost the economy, in what is known as quantitative easing.

But a report showing that US consumer confidence slightly rose in October helped offset the greenback's slide.

The Conference Board consumer confidence index for October stood at 50.2, up from 48.6 in September, beating analysts' consensus forecast of 49.0.

It nevertheless remained very close to historic lows as Americans fret over the high unemployment rate.

Consumer confidence is seen as a pivotal indicator to the health of the US economy, which is mainly driven by consumer spending.

The dollar's rebound against the euro got under way on Monday on news that US existing-home sales soared 10 per cent in September, the strongest gain in 28 years, suggesting a nascent recovery in the battered housing market.

"Strong housing data yesterday planted the seed of doubt which was reinforced by improvements in consumer confidence," said analyst John Rivera at DailyFX.com.

In late New York trade, the dollar fetched 0.9839 Swiss francs, up from 0.9706 on Monday.

The pound nevertheless rose to $1.5840 from 1.5734 on news that British economic growth in the third quarter was brisker than had been expected.

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional