Dollar Falls To New Low Against Yen
There has been lackluster trading in the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The greenback has held near multi-week lows versus the euro and pound, while plunging to another record low versus the Japanese yen.
The dollar has seen weakness lately on the prospects of a plan to ease the debt crisis in Europe and on speculation that further stimulus will be necessary to prop up the U.S. economy.
The dollar has bounced around against the euro during Tuesday’s action, holding steady near a six-week low. The pair is currently sitting at 1.3921, after hitting a mark of 1.3959 earlier in the day.
The greenback drifted lower versus the pound early in the day, but quickly halted the decline. The greenback has largely moved sideways lately, though it has moved past the 1.60 mark and is now sitting at 1.6007. With its recent move, the dollar reached its lowest level versus the U.K. currency since the first half of September.
Against the yen, the greenback plunged during mid-morning trading in New York. The slide took the dollar to a new record low versus the Japanese currency, reaching a level of 75.726. It has moved off this mark lately and is currently sitting at 75.971.
The slide against the yen comes despite warnings from Japanese authorities that they will intervene to weaken their currency. With its reliance on exports, Japan benefits on the global market from a weaker currency, and officials have announced plans to fight a strong yen if necessary.
In U.S. economic news released Tuesday, the S&P Case-Shiller index showed that home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas saw a modest monthly increase in August, although prices continued to show a significant decrease compared to the same month a year ago. The index, covering 20 key markets in the U.S., rose 0.2 percent compared to the previous month, but down 3.8 percent from last year.
In a separate report, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dropped to 39.8 in October from a revised 46.4 in September. The decrease came as a surprise to economists, and the measure reached its lowest level since March of 2009.
