Finance / Insurance

The dollar fell on Monday, following promising performance after optimistic US housing and consumer data last week. Investors are still wary about the fragility of the US economy opting to play it cautious, as an onslaught of economic data that is released this week.

Oil prices were also a factor in the dollar’s slump, as crude oil prices rose after a seven week low.

Analysts have suggested that the US housing market could become more stable when the rescue package that Congress passed recently, is signed by the President. This is thought to be happening soon and has already had an impact, as it raised US banks and mortgage lenders shares during the last fortnight.

The euro was slightly up and held steady against the dollar, even after it was revealed that German consumer confidence had hit the lowest point in five years.

The pound lost ground against the other currencies on Tuesday after a report by the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) reported that sales on UK’s high streets were falling at an alarming rate.

In the survey the CBI stated that a huge 61 percent of people who were asked said that their retail sales had fallen compared to the same time last year, while only 25 percent reported a rise in sales.

The US dollar fell against the euro today, as the euro gained ground from its month low earlier this week. It is thought that investors still have concerns over the US economy and have shifted to the euro as they await European economic data released later today.

Many analysts are expecting that the European sentiment index will show a down turn in the economic growth and give the European Central Bank (ECB) little scope to lower interest rates despite high inflation rates.