The euro fell on Monday after German flash purchasing managers’ index survey data for September was weaker than expected, raising more fears about the health of the economy. The single currency, trading around $1.10 before the numbers were released, dropped 0.4% to as weak as $1.0972 , its weakest since Sept. 12. The survey showed that the German private sector activity shrank for the first time in 6-1/2 years in September as a manufacturing recession deepened unexpectedly and growth in the service sector lost momentum. The dollar was boosted by ...

The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Friday, for its first weekly increase in three, prompted by hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and that the Federal Reserve would not lower rates aggressively. Sterling retreated from a two-month high versus the greenback after the Irish foreign minister said that London and the European Union were not yet close to a Brexit deal. U.S. and Chinese deputy trade negotiators are set to continue talks that began on Thursday in an effort to lay the groundwork for high-level ...

The U.S. dollar erased earlier losses and rose on Friday after investors cut back short positions in the greenback as concerns about slower global growth prospects and political tensions boosted its safe-haven appeal. The dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter-point on Wednesday and the currency’s decline was compounded by a spike in overnight U.S. repo rates that cut into demand for dollars. But market watchers say the slowdown in global growth and increased tensions following the weekend attacks on Saudi oil facilities were making ...

The dollar edged lower on Friday and was headed for a third straight week of losses as expectations of a breakthrough in trade tensions between Washington and Beijing fuelled a revival in risk appetite. The losses came after the Federal Reserve cut interest rats by a quarter-point rate, compounded by a spike in overnight U.S. repo rates this week, which cut into demand for dollars. Other major central banks, including the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank, left rates unchanged this week, disappointing some ...

The dollar fell against most major currencies on Thursday as some central banks refrained from cutting interest rates after the Federal Reserve’s second rate decrease this year, boosting the appeal of their currencies versus the greenback. Sterling rallied in late U.S. trading following comments from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker which raised hopes for a deal for Britain to leave the European Union. The Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan all kept their policies on hold on Thursday. Norges Bank increased its key policy ...

The dollar hit a seven-week high against the yen and a three-month peak versus the Swiss franc on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, but gave an uncertain outlook on future easing and sounded less bleak about the U.S. economy. The dollar rose in seven of the last eight sessions against the yen, while touching the day’s peaks versus the euro. In cutting interest rates by 25 basis points for the second time this year, the Fed gave a ...

The dollar held near a seven-week high against the Japanese yen on Wednesday before the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting where officials are widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. “The focus will be on the policy outlook and the Fed’s dot plots, and with market positioning broadly neutral, it should be a quiet session for the dollar,” said Thu Lan Nguyen, a currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. Against the yen, the dollar edged up 0.1% to 108.23 yen, just below a ...

The U.S. dollar fell on Tuesday in range-bound trading on the eve of an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, weakened by a fall in oil prices and a stronger euro. Oil prices dropped about 6% on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said the kingdom had fully restored its oil production, following an attack over the weekend that shut down 5% of global oil output. That reversed some of the dollar’s gains on Monday when investors rushed into safe-haven assets. The euro was up 0.59% at $1.1065 ...

The dollar stood tall against other major currencies on Tuesday as geopolitical risks encouraged investors to flock to the relative safe-appeal of the greenback before a U.S. central bank policy meeting this week, where a rate cut is widely expected. Though oil prices pulled back slightly after surging to four-month highs on Monday, they remained about 15% higher than Friday’s close as markets remain wary over the threat of a military response to attacks on Saudi Arabian crude oil facilities. “The dollar is in demand as risk sentiment remains weak ...

The dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s authorization of the use of an emergency crude stockpile in response to attacks on Saudi Arabian refining facilities cooled a surge in oil prices. The Japanese yen and Swiss franc, both traditional safe-haven currencies, gave up much of their initial gains with a pullback in crude prices and anxiety about a disruption in global energy supply, analysts said. Still, investors remained nervous about another attack, which underpinned demand for currencies of oil exporters such as ...

For decades, U.S. currency policy was to, in effect, have no policy. Administrations seldom intervened in markets, advised other countries to do the same and claimed a strong dollar was in the country’s interest. That is changing. President Trump has already disavowed support for a strong dollar, and officials have considered whether to use currency intervention as a weapon in their trade war. This has raised a host of questions among investors and traders: How and under what circumstances would U.S. officials intervene? Would it work? What would other countries ...

The world is moving toward a new short-term lending benchmark to replace the troubled London interbank offered rate. Companies don’t seem to be in a rush to keep pace. Fewer than half of 177 companies surveyed by consulting firm Accenture are confident they will be prepared for Libor’s demise, scheduled for the end of 2021. Libor, which is linked to trillions of dollars of financial contracts, is used to determine rates for everything from some variable-rate mortgages to corporate loans. However, a manipulation scandal revealed grave flaws in the way ...

The pound extended the last week’s dramatic rally on Friday as investors pounced on a media report that Northern Ireland’s largest political party had agreed to accept some European Union rules after Brexit. The report in the Times newspaper was swiftly denied by the party but still encouraged the view that Britain and the EU can agree a deal to replace the Irish backstop, the main sticking point in negotiations between London and Brussels. Talk of an alternative to the Irish backstop, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants scrapped, comes ...

The euro rocketed to a 17-day high against the dollar on Friday as German government bond yields surged on the back of investors thinking the European Central Bank was done stimulating the ailing euro zone economy after cutting rates on Thursday. The central bank cut its deposit interest rate by 10 basis points to a record low of minus 0.5% and said it would restart bond purchases at a rate of 20 billion euros a month from Nov. 1 for an indefinite time. The revived bond purchases exceeded many expectations ...

The euro gained against the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank launched new stimulus but failed to live up to some dovish market expectations. The ECB cut its deposit rate to a record low -0.5% from -0.4% and will restart bond purchases of 20 billion euros a month from November. It also said it expects bond purchases to run for as long as necessary and end shortly before it starts raising the key ECB interest rates. “We got a little bit of everything, but when all was said ...