• Home
• /
• Business

Dollar down against euro in thin post-Christmas trades

Amid quiet trading with financial centers such as London still closed on an extended Christmas break, the euro rose to 1.4376 dollars at 2200 GMT in New York from 1.4356 late Thursday. The New York market was closed on Friday.

The dollar rose against Japanese currency to 91.62 yen from 91.46 yen late Thursday.

Terri Belkas of Forex Capital Markets said the dollar and yen, regarded as safe-haven currencies, “dipped lower” across the major currencies “as optimism on global growth helped to spur demand for riskier assets,” such as equities and commodities.

Among positive economic news was a 3.6 percent rise from a year ago in US retail spending during the peak shopping period from the Thanksgiving to Christmas holidays, based on a report from MasterCard Advisors Spending Pulse.

The improved retail numbers and other upbeat data helped to “fuel the risk rally,” said Kathy Lien, director of currency Research at Global Forex Trading.

“The foreign exchange markets are traditionally very quiet the Monday after Christmas because it is a bank and public holiday in the UK, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand,” she said.

“Although the US and Tokyo markets are open today, volume is particularly light because most traders are still on vacation.”

John Sylvia of PNC Bank said foreign repatriation of funds by US firms before year-end also boosted the dollar.

Sylvia said the market also believed that fresh US economic data should “show the US gaining momentum in its recovery,” giving the Federal Reserve “added support to end emergency stimulus measures.”

Additionally, Sylvia said “bets on a US interest rate hike at next year’s June meeting had increased to 55 percent, up from 48 percent earlier last week.”

In late New York trade, the British pound rose to 1.6000 dollars from 1.5945 on Thursday.

The dollar also eased to 1.0346 Swiss francs from 1.0385.