LATEST NEWS:
Business
Dollar flat as ECB, BoE leave rates unchanged
Friday, November 06, 2009
The dollar was nearly flat yesterday after the European Central Bank and Bank of England left their respective key interest rates unchanged.
Higher interest rates can support a currency as investors transfer funds in search of better returns. The ECB and BoE maintained their rates at one per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively, higher than the Federal Reserve's current rock-bottom range near zero.
The 16-nation euro dropped to $1.4871 from from $1.4888 late Wednesday, while the British pound slipped to $1.6572 from $1.6583. The dollar fell to 90.48 Japanese yen from 90.74 yen.
Meanwhile, rising retail sales last month and an improving picture on jobs gave the stock market a boost - but unexpectedly, didn't harm the dollar.
Over the past year, the dollar has tended to benefit from a "safe haven" play, whereupon traders buy up the dollar following worse-than-expected economic reports and corporate outlooks, or freeze-ups in credit markets.
The reverse is also true: better-than-expected news tends to hurt the greenback. That means the buck tends to trade inversely to stocks, and has tumbled since spring as the Dow Jones industrials jumped higher.
Other Stories
Increased World Bank funding for Jamaica
The resurgence of NCB Capital Markets
Digicel's profits and subscribers continue to grow
Mayday Air Jamaica takes stand against Spirit Airlines' bid to purchase Air J
LIME Ja posts J$1.3 billion loss in Q3, but sees Internet and data growth
Rituals Coffee to set up shop in Jamaica
Virgin America expands to Florida
Caricom chairman lobbies FAO to support the region's agriculture initiative
US economy will grow in the final quarter of 09 — Obama
Claro's parent América Móvil: One of the world's best companies - says Business Week
Former Barbados PM says CSME 'was never going to be easy'
RSS Feeds