US dollar continues to weaken

Story link: US dollar continues to weaken

The US dollar weakened again Monday even as US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was telling a radio station in Moscow that a strong dollar serves the interests of the United States.

The dollar was hurt by sentiment that an upcoming Labor Department report will show that there were 60,000 fewer jobs in June than there were in May.

Manufacturing data was also a concern as new numbers from the National Association of Purchasing Management in Milwaukee showed that manufacturing contracted in that region in June, even though the report from the organization’s Chicago branch reported that manufacturing in its region contracted less quickly in June.

At just past noon in New York, the dollar traded at $1.5738 to the euro while it took ¥106.2200 to buy a greenback.

The yen was also up in relation to the euro after Moody’s Investors Service raised Japan’s local-currency debt rating to Aa3, up one level, allowing the yen to trade at ¥167.1690 to the shared currency.

Meanwhile, the Swiss franc gained on the US dollar and the euro on the possibility that central banks will add more francs to their reserves and on speculation that the Swiss National Bank will raise interest rates soon to fight inflation after having kept rates steady at 2.75 percent in June.

In midday trade in New York, the Swiss franc traded at SFr1.0213 to the US dollar and at SFr1.6072 to the euro.

The Australian dollar also strengthened versus the greenback on reports that commodities exports, particularly iron ore and coal, are breaking records.

Commodities exports account for around 17 percent of the Australian economy.

Around noon in New York, it took 95.68 cents US to buy an Australian dollar.