Dollar swings wildly against euro

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Dollar swings wildly against euro
By Matt Millham, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The U.S. dollar swung wildly against the euro Tuesday, a day after suffering its biggest one-day loss against the single currency since its 2002 introduction.

Euro prices at on-base banks and credit unions jumped from $1.465 Monday to $1.498 Tuesday in response, and worsened to $1.517 Wednesday, according to Community Bank. That mark was last hit on Aug. 26, according to historical exchange rates available through the Army’s 266th Financial Management Center in Germany.

The dollar rebounded against the euro by more than a penny before plunging back near its one-month low ahead of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.’s and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s appearance before Congress, where they pleaded with lawmakers to move quickly on a bill to bail out the U.S. financial system.

Oil prices, which experienced their biggest one-day jump in history Monday, were down slightly as U.S. commodity markets opened Tuesday. The increase in the price of oil was tied to the dollar’s drop against other world currencies.

Exchange rates for both the euro and the British pound are at levels last seen before cost-of-living allowance rates were cut Sept. 1. COLA rates could jump slightly if the dollar doesn’t rebound significantly against European currencies.


Article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57622