MW: Dollar slips; euro holds gains as Greece readies bond issue
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The dollar was lower versus major rivals Monday, with the European single currency extending a rebound in the wake of last week's decision by euro-zone leaders to back a standby aid plan for the debt-strapped nation that would involve the International Monetary Fund.
The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.3477, +0.0007, +0.0520%) traded at $1.3475, up from $1.3411 in late North American trading on Friday. The single currency had pressed above $1.3500 in earlier action.
Greece on Monday moved to test the waters in the wake of the contingency plan, announcing it would sell a 7-year, euro-denominated bond in an effort to raise 5 billion ($6.7 billion) euros.
Guidance was at 310 basis points over mid-swaps, equal to a yield of around 6%, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Read about the bond sale.
Meanwhile, the European Commission's economic sentiment indicator for the 16-nation euro zone rose 1.8 points in March to 97.7. The commission said the upward trend in economic sentiment appears to have regained momentum after a February pause.
Economists had forecast the indicator to rise to 97.4.
The dollar index (DXY 81.30, -0.10, -0.12%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to 81.285, down from 81.628 late Friday.
Currency markets saw little reaction to news apparent suicide bombings on the Moscow subway had left dozens dead, focusing instead on economic data, said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT. Read about the Moscow bombings.
The British pound (CUR_GBPUSD 1.4996, +0.0034, +0.2272%) rose 0.4% to $1.4966 versus the dollar, boosted in part by stronger-than-expected consumer lending data, Schlossberg said.
The Bank of England reported that net consumer lending rose by 2.1 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) in February, compared to a 1.9 billion pound rise in January. The rise was the strongest since December 2008 and exceeded forecasts for an increase of 1.4 billion pounds. Mortgage approvals fell but mortgage loans rose by 1.6 billion pounds, compared to a 1.5 billion pound increase in January.
The dollar (CUR_USDYEN 92.5300, +0.1000, +0.1082%) bought 92.44 Japanese yen, compared to 92.52 yen late Friday.
