Euro Makes New Record Above $1.29

[radfringe]

Euro Makes New Record Above $1.29
http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3FBWULALOHSSACRBAE0CFFA?type=businessNews&storyID=4381724
Wed February 18, 2004 04:20 AM ET
(Page 1 of 2)
By Charlotte Cooper

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro rose to a fresh record above $1.29 on Wednesday as upbeat U.S. data this week failed to alter investors' bearish view of the greenback and sent it to new multi-year lows against higher yielding currencies.

The Australian dollar rose to a seven-year high above US$0.80 and sterling hit a fresh 11-year peak, leading the way against the dollar after encouraging U.S. capital inflow data on Tuesday proved insufficient to banish concerns about U.S. twin budget and current account deficits and low interest rates.


---snip---

"We had good U.S. data yesterday but the dollar didn't gain enough on it and at a certain point, dollar optimists threw in the towel," said Peter Fontaine, market strategist at KBC in Brussels.

"You see at every euro dip there are new buyers, both speculative and corporates. People want to sell U.S. dollars against the Aussie, sterling and euro, so it's clear people are going for the currencies with the biggest rate differential."

[Zhade]

1. Maybe the Japanese US-bond situation has something to do with this?

NT!

[Art_from_Ark]

2. "Good" US data

Perhaps the market has caught on to the fact that "good" data from this misadministration, like the data of its corporate benefactors and supporters, is often cooked so much it turns into pap.

[JanMichael]

5. Good question. What was "good" about sub-par employment numbers...

....and IIRC declining new home starts?

[4dsc]

3. So much for a European vacation

I can imagine that the prices in Europe, using American dollars, is just outragous right now and won't get any better soon.

No wonder they are offer airplane flights on the cheap..

[lebkuchen]

4. I wonder how US tourism is doing these days

w/Europeans heading over "the pond."

If you can get a cheap airline ticket, that is the bulk of your cost for the trip. Beer and wine is very cheap, still, and during the off-season, hotel rates are lowered. It's not cold at all in Western Europe at the moment, so travel would be pleasant.

I was in Venice in Nov. and Neuschwanstein last week, places that are usually bulging at the seams in the high season were very pleasantly "normal" in the off.

[SOS]

6. Snow recently said

the Misadministration is not going to do much to help the dollar.
The Bushies think it will help in retaining export jobs until November. Of course the potential downside of a weak dollar is huge, but Bush doesn't care as long as it helps him the political shortrun.