As the decline in weekly jobless claims and a rise in personal consumption improved the outlook for the U.S. economy, the dollar fell to a fresh 15-month low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve minutes

Traders had earlier sold the dollar across the board, which results in pushing the dollar to a 10-month low against the yen, as it has been showed by Federal Reserve minutes released on Tuesday that policymakers saw the U.S. currency’s recent decline as “orderly”.

It has also been affirmed by the minutes that expectations U.S. interest rates will stay essentially at zero until around mid-2010.

Investors seeking riskier investments

The U.S. reports along with the Fed stance has encouraged investors to seek riskier investments elsewhere for higher returns and this has given a boost to higher-yielding such as the Australian dollar.

For most of the year, the dollar, which is considered to be a safe haven, tends to fall on upbeat economic data.

Euro

The euro EUR= hit a 15-month high at $1.5096, and it was last raised up to 0.6% at $1.5058.

ICE Futures dollar index .DXY

The ICE Futures dollar index .DXY, dropped to 74.399, a 15-month low. It was last at 74.523, which has dropped down 0.7%. This is the index that measures its performance against a basket of six currencies.

Dollar against Yen

The dollar dropped down 1.1% to 87.53 yen JPY=, after falling as low as 87.40, which is its lowest since January.

Source (Reuters)

People who liked this Post also read

• Dollar Flat ahead of U.S. jobs data; Canadian dollar climbed
  On Friday as investors waited for the U.S. government's monthly employment report to offer clues to the potential pace of tightening in U.S. monetary policy so, the dollar was slow versus a basket of major currencies.In November the U.S. economy lost 130...
• Improvement in Economic Outlook leads towards Dollar’s Decline
  As positive euro-zone economic data, easing concern over the Dubai debt crisis and rising global equities helped swing investor sentiment in favor of riskier assets so the dollar declined against the euro on Tuesday......
• Euro gained against dollar after firmer German Ifo
  On Tuesday the euro rise against the dollar, reversing earlier losses as a firmer-than-expected German sentiment survey offset concerns about the country's banking sector.A bigger-than-expected rise in the German Ifo November business climate index has he...
• Canadian Dollar dropped down as Stocks fall on Concern Rally Overdone
  The Canadian dollar has drooped down against 13 of its 16 most-traded counterparts and it has gained only against the currencies of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The U.S. dollar has shown a rise against all but two major currencies as......
• Dollar jump on Dubai Debt Worries, but Markets remained calm
  On Friday the yen hit a 14-year high against the dollar and it rallied broadly, while the dollar climbed against most other currencies as carry trades and risk exposure were cut down by the investors on concern about Dubai's debt problems. However, by mid...