Отправлено 18 November 2009 - 08:45
Dollar gains as risk takes dip
By Peter Garnham
Published: November 17 2009 10:58 | Last updated: November 17 2009 23:45
The dollar rallied from a 15-month low on Tuesday as risk appetite wavered and traders digested rare comments on the currency from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve.
A subdued global equity market performance relieved some pressure on the dollar, though US stocks moved higher late in New York.
Hesitation in investor confidence weighed on demand for carry trades, in which low-yielding currencies such as the dollar are sold to finance the purchase of riskier, higher-yielding assets elsewhere.
Traders said the dollar’s rise also reflected a delayed reaction to comments from Mr Bernanke.
Mr Bernanke said on Monday that he had noted the dollar’s depreciation and that the Fed would “continue to monitor these developments closely”. He added that the central bank was “attentive” to the implications of changes in the value of the dollar.
Analysts said the remarks were unusual because comments on the dollar were usually the domain of the US Treasury secretary.
“Though not sounding an overtly alarmed tone over the value of the dollar, by even commenting on the currency it shows that the Fed is concerned enough over the market’s worries to at least address the issue,” said Sacha Tihanyi at Scotia Capital.
Late in New York, the dollar rose 0.7 per cent to $1.4870 against the euro, climbed 0.3 per cent to Y89.31 against the yen and gained marginally to $1.6812 against the pound.
Sterling advanced elsewhere, climbing to a two-month high against the euro after UK consumer price inflation came in higher than expected in October.
The figures fuelled the view that the Bank of England might be coming close to the end of its quantitative easing programme after announcing a £25bn extension to its asset purchase scheme at its policy meeting this month.
The pound rose 0.7 per cent to £0.8843 against the euro, its strongest level since September 15, and climbed 0.3 per cent to Y150.18 against the yen.
The Australian dollar suffered as investors pared back expectations of an imminent rise in interest rates after the release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s November meeting.
The RBA struck a less hawkish tone than expected, saying that while further gradual adjustment in the cash rate was appropriate, “the pace of the adjustment remained an open question”.
This prompted investors to scale back expectations of further monetary tightening at the RBA’s December meeting. The Australian dollar fell 0.7 per cent to $0.9303 against the US dollar and lost 0.4 per cent to Y83.09 against the yen.