Foreign Exchange News

The dollar fell against other major currencies Friday after a government report showed starts of new homes plunged to more than a six-year low last month and on market talk that a major hedge fund is in trouble. The Commerce Department said housing starts fell 14.6% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.486 million homes, the largest percentage decline in permits in seven years.  ...

LONDON (AFX) - The dollar firmed further in quiet trade as it continued to garner support from receding expectations of an impending reduction in US interest rates. That general market view remains intact even though US housing starts data disappointed massively to the downside as the US currency continues to benefit from a hawkish-sounding US Federal Reserve. "An extended Fed pause should  ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The yuan closed at 7.8718 to the US dollar on the over-the-counter (OTC) market, compared with 7.8715 yesterday. On the exchange-traded market, the yuan ended at 7.8700, compared with yesterday's closing level of 7.8697, according to a Guangdong-based trader. The currency traded between 7.8750 -7.8707 on the OTC market, and between 7.8739 -7.8690 on the exchange-traded marke ...

SINGAPORE (XFN-ASIA) - The US dollar was virtually flat against the other main currencies in afternoon trading here, at the end of an Asian session during which flows were generally light, dealers said. At 3.30 pm here (0730 GMT), the dollar was at 118.29 yen, little changed from 118.30 yen in Sydney nearly 4-1/2 hours earlier. The euro was at 1.2788 usd, the same as its level in Sydney. Said on ...

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - The Australian dollar has been "remarkably stable" given the rapid growth of turnover in the local foreign exchange market, according to Guy Debelle, head of the central bank's international branch. He added that hedge fund activity has mostly helped the local currency maintain its strength. In speech notes released here Debelle said there has been a large increase  ...

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - The US dollar was higher against the yen and euro here after the release of a less-hawkish US consumer inflation report for October, dealers said. They said the focus of traders remains on the extent of the growth slowdown evident in the CPI and other recent data releases, while tonight's US housing starts and building permits for the month of October should dictate sentiment  ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The central bank has set the yuan central parity rate at 7.8745 to the dollar, according to the National Foreign Exchange Center. The rate, published on the official Chinamoney website, compares with the midpoint of 7.8733 set the previous trading day. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) started setting a daily central parity rate on Jan 4. On July 21, 2005, China freed the y ...

PARIS (AFX) - President Jacques Chirac of France said euro zone member states should be allowed more say in the monetary policy of the European Central Bank, just two days after Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the strong euro was damaging European exports. "I am very respectful of the independence of the European Central Bank but I wish all the same that everyone would be able to g ...

LONDON (AFX) - Gold was little changed ahead of the release later today of key data on US inflation, which could provide insight into gold's outlook as investors gain a better sense of what the next US interest rate move is likely to be. Lower interest rates weaken the dollar and thereby support gold, which often moves counter to the US currency as investors see it as an alternate investment to t ...

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - The yen gained further while the euro was flat against the US dollar in midafternoon trade here with investor focus turning to tonight's key release of US consumer inflation data for October, dealers said. At 2.20 pm (0320 GMT), the dollar was at 117.83 yen, down from 117.94 in morning trade while the euro was steady at 1.2832 usd. Dealers said market expectations for US Octo ...