RTRS: Dollar on defensive on uncertainty over U.S. carmakers
By Tamawa Desai
LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar hit a two-month low against the euro and a basket of currencies on Monday, as investors shunned the U.S. unit on uncertainty surrounding the fate of ailing U.S. automakers and its possible economic impact.
The White House said on Friday it was considering tapping a $700 billion financial industry bailout fund to prevent a collapse of ailing U.S. automakers.
That came after the U.S. Senate on Thursday rejected a bailout plan to avert a possible bankruptcy by one or more of the nation's three automakers.
But U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday an announcement on a car industry rescue was not imminent, leaving the industry's fate clouded for a little longer.
Investors fear a failure of any of the automakers would exacerbate a year-long recession and drag other companies under.
By 0919 GMT, the euro was up 0.7 percent against the dollar at $1.3470 after hitting a two-month high of $1.3500 earlier in the day, according to electronic platform EBS.
The dollar also hit a two-month low against a basket of currencies at 82.994 .DXY.
"Support for the dollar has waned with repatriation funds drying up and global deleveraging decreasing on signs of stability in currency markets," said David Powell, strategist at Bank of America in London.
The dollar also remained under pressure ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting, which begins later on Monday.
The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by at least a half-percentage point to 0.5 percent from 1 percent on Tuesday at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. With interest rates rapidly approaching zero, the Fed may also indicate more steps to provide liquidity into the market.
"The tide seems to have turned around in recent sessions, with bad U.S. economic news now hurting the dollar rather than helping it," said UBS analysts in a research note.
A broad rebound in share prices also eased extreme risk aversion, prompting buying of higher-yielding currencies. The Australian dollar rose 0.8 percent and New Zealand dollar was up nearly 1.5 percent.
European shares edged up 0.25 percent after stock prices in Asia rose on revived bailout hopes for the U.S. auto sector.
The yen fell slightly against the dollar, after hitting 13-year highs of 88.10 yen on Friday. Yen gains were capped on speculation that Japanese authorities could intervene to curb further rapid appreciation.
Market reaction was limited to the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey showing corporate sentiment deteriorated sharply.
The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment fell to a nearly seven-year low of minus 24, down from minus 3 in the previous survey in September.
