Posted at 12:00 p.m., Thursday, December 27, 2007
Dollar falls against yen, euro, British pound
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The dollar fell against the euro in thin, post-Christmas trading Thursday, following disappointing American economic data and the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.The 13-nation euro bought $1.4627 in late New York trading, up from $1.4500 Wednesday.
The British pound climbed to $1.9958 from $1.9836, while the dollar slid to 113.69 Japanese yen from 114.26 yen.
The dollar has suffered lately from worries over the health of the U.S. economy in the wake of the subprime lending crisis.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods — products expected to last at least three years — increased by a much smaller-than-expected 0.1 percent last month.
In addition, the Labor Department reported that more people signed up for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the job market is softening as the economy loses speed.
News of Bhutto's killing also appeared to contribute to nervousness.
Andrew Busch, global foreign exchange strategist at BMO Capital Markets in Chicago, pointed to "pretty strong evidence that the market is going to be selling U.S. dollars and U.S. stocks" on Thursday.
"There is a lot of geopolitical uncertainty," especially considering Pakistan's nuclear resources, he added. "Uncertainty will generally generate some dollar sales."
In other trading, the U.S. currency slipped to 1.1386 Swiss francs from 1.1503 francs, and edged up to 1.0197 Canadian dollars from 1.0194 in the previous session.
