MW: Dollar lower as U.S. stocks recover some ground
By Deborah Levine, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar declined Friday versus major currencies including the euro and British pound as currency markets took the cue from the gains in U.S. stocks after a report that Citigroup may sell itself.
The euro rose to $1.2573, from $1.2453 in late North American trading Thursday.
The British pound advanced to $1.4912, compared to $1.4735 Thursday.
"In day largely devoid of major data or event risk, stocks will continue to be the main driver of foreign exchange price action," said Adam Cole, global head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
Investors expressed more interest in higher-yielding currencies, including the Canadian dollar and Australian dollar as well.
The Japanese yen was under some pressure as the Bank of Japan's Policy Board said it would consider new measures to help inject more cash into the financial system. See full story.
The dollar bought 94.80 yen from 94.15 yen Thursday.
Economic activity had "been increasingly sluggish" and the downturn afflicting the No. 2 global economy will persist over the next several quarters.
Officials also voted unanimously Friday to hold its key overnight call rate unchanged at 0.3%, as largely expected.
"The BOJ is signaling that it is taking other measures than interest rate changes to address economic conditions," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.
The dollar index , a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 87.660 from 88.233 Thursday.
