Dollar rallies on data, perceptions
June 9, 2006
The US dollar strengthened against some currencies over the week, helped by interest rate differentials, the perception of Treasury bonds as a safe place for investors to put their money, and a US trade deficit that didn’t widen as much as analysts had feared it would.
The greenback was up 2.2 percent to $1.2636 during the week versus the euro. The US currency also added 2.2 percent against sterling to $1.8428, while it was up 2.1 percent in relation to the Swiss franc to SFR1.2307 and gained 1.9 percent to ¥113.81 versus the Japanese yen. The Canadian dollar limited it’s loss to the US dollar to 0.5 percent as it gained 1.4 percent on Friday to C$1.1068.
Emerging currencies also lost ground to the dollar, with the exception of the Turkish lira, which added 1.8 percent versus the greenback to TL1.534. Otherwise, the Indian rupee dropped 0.3 percent versus the US currency to Rs45.81, the South African rand lost 0.5 percent to R6.6913, and the South Korean won and the Thai baht each lost 0.7 percent to the greenback, to Won 9054.4 and Bt38.32 respectively. The Mexican peso also dropped 0.7 percent to the US dollar, to 11.381 pesos, a 19-month low. The Icelandic krona lost 3.9 percent versus the greenback, to IKr73.90.