Foreign Exchange News

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - The U.S. dollar gained modestly against key counterparts Friday, capping a year that featured a roughly 15% gain against the euro and the yen and pulled the greenback out of a three-year decline.   MARKETWATCH TOP NEWS U.S. stocks slump as Dow suffers yearly loss Online holiday shopping jumps 30% U.S. oil firms to resume Libya operations Lobbyi ...

The dollar ended 2005 with its best annual gains against leading currencies for eight years as the Federal Reserve’s ongoing rate-raising campaign helped reverse the greenback’s three-year decline. // The dollar trade-weighted index rose 10 per cent in the last year, against a fall of 27 per cent over the previous three years. The dollar stood yesterday at $1.1790 against the euro, 0.4 per cent higher on the day, and more than 12 per cent higher over the year. The small intra-day rise was p ...

CHICAGO (Dow Jones) - The dollar clawed back to trade little changed against the Japanese yen and was firmer against the euro and the pound on Friday, on course for an unexpected 15% gain against its chief counterparts for 2005. Analysts at Action Economics said some gains Friday could be linked to a final round of U.S. corporate profit repatriation to take advantage of a temporary tax bonus un ...

The detailsSee more Old conundrum, new twist Inverted or flat, the yield curve points to a weaker Federal Reserve, not a downturn. (Full story) More on bonds and yields • Harry Potter and the Fed's conundrum • What investors should do NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Bond prices climbed Friday in the last trading session of 2005 after the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell below that of two-year notes for the fourth time this week. The do ...

By Katie Hunt LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling held steady against the dollar in thin holiday trading on Friday, but remained on track for its biggest annual drop against the U.S. currency since 1992. Sterling showed little reaction to news on Friday that house prices rose by 0.5 percent this month, bringing the total gain in 2005 to 3 percent -- the weakest full-year increase in 10 years, according to Nationwide building society. That is a sharp slowdown from the 12.7 percent annual gain seen in  ...

By Katie Hunt LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling held steady against the dollar in thin holiday trading on Friday, but remained on track for its biggest annual drop against the U.S. currency since 1992. Sterling showed little reaction to news on Friday that house prices in Britain rose by 0.5 percent this month, bringing the total gain in 2005 to 3 percent -- the weakest full-year increase in 10 years, according to Nationwide building society. That is a sharp slowdown from the 12.7 percent annual ga ...

By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Gold served up glittering returns in 2005 as many funds and investors included it in their portfolios for the first time in years and analysts saw no sign of the rally fizzling out in 2006. Gold surged by a quarter this year when it hit its highest level in nearly 25 years of $540.90 (314 pounds) an ounce in December, after spending the first eight months in a $410-$460 range. "Generally investors have done very well in gold. Money goes to performance, so as ...

China has approved 13 domestic and foreign banks to act as market-makers for yuan trading, in another move towards a more flexible currency. China plans to bring in a market-making trading system for the yuan early in 2006, letting it float more freely against foreign currencies. According to reports, the 13 banks include foreign lenders Citigroup, HSBC, ABN Amro and Standard Chartered. The market-makers could begin their roles as early as next week. Critics have complained that the governme ...

By David McMahon TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar fell around half a yen on Friday but was still on track to log its best annual gains against major currencies in eight years, supported by the Federal Reserve's ongoing rate-raising campaign. The dollar was adding to modest losses on Thursday made after a mixed bag of U.S. economic data. It was kept on the back foot in Asia by last-minute dollar sell ...

The detailsSee more Old conundrum, new twist Inverted or flat, the yield curve points to a weaker Federal Reserve, not a downturn. (Full story) More on bonds and yields • Harry Potter and the Fed's conundrum • What investors should do NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Treasury prices were mixed in light holiday trading Thursday as investors largely ignored fresh economic data and kept a close eye on the implication of an inverted yield curve.  ...