BLBG: Consumer Comfort in U.S. Hovered Near Record Low Last Week
The dollar fell to a post-World War II low against the yen and dropped versus most currencies on speculation Europe is moving closer to resolving its debt crisis and the Federal Reserve may seek further monetary easing.
The euro advanced for a fourth day against the dollar, in the longest stretch of gains since July, before two European summits over the next five days. South Africa’s rand and Australia’s dollar rallied as stocks and commodities increased, boosting demand for riskier assets.
“The dollar is coming under pressure across the board,” said Derek Halpenny, head of European currency research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London.
The yen appreciated 0.8 percent to 76.19 versus the dollar at 12:49 p.m. in New York after touching a record high 75.82. The euro rose 0.6 percent to $1.3867, paring its weekly drop to 0.1 percent. The euro slid 0.2 percent to 105.68 yen.
Investors sold dollars before meetings in Europe this weekend after increasing bets last week to the most in more than a year that the U.S. currency would rally.
Hedge funds and other large speculators increased their net long dollar positions to 132,835 in the week ended Oct. 11, the most since June 2010, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Figures on dollar bets versus the euro, the yen, the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand dollars, the pound, the Swiss franc and the Mexican peso for the period ended Oct. 18 will be released at about 3 p.m. New York time.
