US Dollar Slightly Weaker After Drop In New Home Sales
Washington (Oct 26) The dollar is down slightly against all of its major competitors Monday afternoon. The currency pulled back after the release of the weaker than expected new home sales report for September. Investors are also looking forward to the Federal Reserve announcement on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will be keeping a close eye on the accompanying statement.
New home sales in the US fell by much more than anticipated in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday, with sales falling to their lowest level in ten months.
The report said new home sales tumbled 11.5% to an annual rate of 468,000 in September from the revised August rate of 529,000. Economists had expected new home sales to edge down just 0.5% to a rate of 549,000 from the 552,000 originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar has slipped to around USD1.1045 [against the the Euro] this afternoon, from Friday's 2-month high of USD1.0995.
German business confidence weakened modestly in October, as an improvement in the optimism among manufacturers offset their slight dissatisfaction with the current situation, signaling that the biggest euro area economy remains resilient despite the multiple challenges such as the slowdown in the emerging markets and the Volkswagen scandal.
The business climate index fell to a three-month low of 108.2 from 108.5 in September, the results of the latest survey by the Ifo Institute showed Monday. Yet, the score was above the 107.8 economists had forecast.
The buck has dropped to around USD1.5360 against the pound sterling, from Friday's high of USD1.5305.
British manufacturers' order book balance dropped in the three months ended October to the lowest level in three years, survey figures from the Confederation of British Industry showed Monday. The order book balance fell to -8% in the three-month period to October from +9% in the July quarter. The latest figure was the weakest since October 2012, when it was -13%.
UK mortgage approvals for house purchases eased to their lowest level in four months during September, data from the British Bankers' Association showed Monday. The number of loans approved for house purchase dropped to 44,489 in September from 46,567 in August. It was the lowest level since the 43,153 approvals in May. House loan approvals rose 14% from a year ago.
The greenback has pulled back to around Y121.030 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from nearly a 2-month high of Y121.470 on Friday.
Source: AllianceNews
