Forex - Dollar adds to gains on increased safe haven demand
Investing.com
Published Sep 19, 2011 08:02AM ET
During European afternoon trade, the greenback was sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/USD tumbling 1.04% to hit 1.3566.
Fears over a possible default by Greece intensified after European Union finance ministers warned that Greece may not receive its next EUR8 billion tranche of aid due next month if the government fails to meet deficit reduction targets.
The greenback was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.45% to hit 1.5781.
Earlier Monday, the Bank of England’s quarterly bulletin said the bond-purchase plan it implemented between March 2009 and early 2010 had an “economically significant” effect on Britain’s financial system, but said the impact of future purchases may differ.
Elsewhere, the greenback was slightly lower against the yen but surged against the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.10% to hit 76.70 and USD/CHF advancing 0.87% to hit 0.8833.
Meanwhile, the greenback was stronger against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD climbing 0.54% to hit 0.9832, AUD/USD falling 1.1% to hit 1.0248 and NZD/USD shedding 0.65% to hit 0.8235.
Earlier in the day, a report showed that the New Zealand’s Westpac index of consumer sentiment was unchanged at 112 in the September quarter, as consumers remained upbeat, but long term confidence dropped off.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was weighed by speculation over a possible rate cut by the country’s central bank, ahead of the release of minutes from this month’s policy-setting meeting on Tuesday.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rallied 0.81% to hit 77.67.
Later in the day, officials from the EU and the International Monetary Fund were to hold talks with Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos to discuss extra steps to ensure Athens can qualify for its next tranche of rescue funds.
Also Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama was to speak about the outlook for the economy, in Washington.
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Written By: Investing.com
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