March 10, 2005
Yahoo Finance
BERLIN (AP) -- The U.S. dollar hit a nine-week low Thursday against the euro, which rose to US$1.3434 due to higher oil prices, a sell-off in U.S. Treasury bonds and nervousness over upcoming U.S. trade figures.
The dollar's downward drift in European trading followed renewed losses in Tokyo and New York, where the 12-country euro bought US$1.3407 late Wednesday.
The dollar was stable at a one-month low against the Japanese yen at 103.93 yen, but it fell to 1.1535 Swiss francs from 1.1565 and 1.2011 Canadian dollars from 1.2045. The British pound bought US$1.9279, up from US$1.9269 late Wednesday.
Expectations among traders that U.S. trade data Friday will show the deficit remaining high in January are weighing on the dollar. Pressure on the dollar also is coming from rising oil prices, which briefly topped US$55 a barrel on Wednesday.
Market concern over the U.S. trade and budget deficits have dragged the dollar down since late last year, when the euro shot up from about US$1.20 in September to an all-time high of US$1.3667 at the end of December. The dollar has recovered slightly since, but has remained within a few cents of the record.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050310/euro_dollar_1.html