Anderson G10 Strategist

The euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar in choppy trading on Thursday as U.S. economic data showed the recovery lost steam earlier this year but remained in better shape than the euro zone. U.S. manufacturing cooled in February and consumer spending was flat in January for a third straight month. Other data, though, showed new claims for jobless benefits fell to a near four-year low last week while reports from retailers and automakers on February sales were also upbeat. Prospects for a sustained economic recovery around the globe, however, darkened as sputtering factory activity in Europe overshadowed more positive data from Asia. The euro had already been weak before New York opened after a huge injection of cash by the European Central Bank on Wednesday and lingering ...

Robust U.S. jobs data spurred investors to buy the U.S. dollar and sell yen on Friday with the rosier economic report curtailing some expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off raising interest rates until 2014. The strong jobs data diminished the greenback's safe haven status as investors took on more risk. The main beneficiary was the euro where initial losses on the report were erased by the end of trade despite the overhang of Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed 243,000 non-farm jobs were created in January, its fastest pace in nine months, pulling the unemployment rate to an unexpected three year low of 8.3 percent. Friday's data erodes the argument for more economic stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve and for some investors even ...

(Reuters) - The euro traded unchanged against the dollar on Thursday, after earlier hitting a five-week high, as moves to cover bets against the currency petered out as a Fed induced rally faded. The Fed on Wednesday pushed back the likely timing of an eventual interest rate hike until late 2014, 18 months later than previously suggested, lifting riskier assets such as the euro. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also said the U.S. central bank was ready to offer additional economic stimulus. The euro has been prone to bouts of strength for most of the past week as investors scrambled to cover large bets against the single currency amid optimism Greece will reach a deal with its creditors and avoid a disorderly default. "The last phase of the short-covering likely emerged at the $1. ...

(Reuters) - Stricter budget discipline in the 17 countries that use the euro is all well and good, but investors fear it won't provide what the euro zone needs most of all: More economic growth. Money managers say that means Friday's stock market rally and euro gains could be short-lived, particularly if credit ratings agencies decide to strip any of Europe's top-rated countries of their AAA status. "The fundamental problem in the most troubled European countries is the debt burden is growing at a faster rate than their economies are," said Michael Cheah, who manages a $1 billion fixed income fund at SunAmerica Asset Management in Jersey City, New Jersey. "That's been the problem for a long time. Yet the only solution we get is more discipline, more austerity." All 17 euro zone ...

(Reuters) - The euro faced make-or-break time ahead of a European Central Bank meeting and a European Union summit next week, as the single currency fell against the dollar on Friday for the first time in five sessions. Investors were wary of placing aggressive bets in favor of the 12-year-old currency ahead of the ECB meeting next Thursday and the EU summit the following day. French and German leaders are to meet on Monday to outline joint proposals to be discussed at the EU meeting. "People have been playing up the fact that the euro zone is running out of time because their steps have been incremental and not big enough to calm fears," said Mark McCormick, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. "They are making progress, but everyone is looking for a game-changer. ...

(Reuters) - Investors will remain wary of placing bets in favor of the euro even if Greece's government survives a confidence vote as uncertainty about Europe's bailout package and concerns about other debt-burdened countries weigh on the single-currency. Fears about Greece, the euro zone and the global economy had pushed the euro down 2.8 percent against the dollar for the past week, its worst weekly performance since mid-September. Greek parliamentarians prepared to give their verdict on Prime Minister George Papandreou on Friday. Should his government fall and new elections are called, an EU bailout plan could be put in jeopardy. Without the 130-billion-euro bailout deal, Greece could default on its sovereign debt and cause the euro-zone crisis to spread, possibly limiting credit and ...

(Reuters) - The dollar rallied against the yen and Swiss franc on Monday as strong U.S. consumer spending data reduced fears of another U.S. recession. U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, rebounded strongly in July from June. Weak pending sales of existing homes, however, showed the housing sector remains soft. "This morning's U.S. economic reports will make Fed officials feel slightly better about the outlook for the U.S. economy but the slower rise in incomes relative to spending means that they cannot take their hands off the 'go' button," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week opted to postpone a decision on more stimulus, giving the central bank more time to assess ...

(Reuters) - The dollar gained against the yen and Swiss franc on Monday as strong U.S. consumer spending data reduced fears of another recession. U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, rebounded strongly in July from June. Weak pending sales of existing homes, however, showed the housing sector remains soft. "This morning's U.S. economic reports will make Fed officials feel slightly better about the outlook for the U.S. economy but the slower rise in incomes relative to spending means that their they cannot take their hands off the go button," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week opted to postpone a decision on more stimulus, giving the central bank more time to assess the ...

(Reuters) - The dollar gained against the yen and Swiss franc on Monday, supported by a report on U.S. consumer spending that mitigated fears the world's largest economy was slipping back into a recession. U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity, rebounded strongly in July from June. The data suggested the economy started the third quarter with some strength after growth almost stalled in the first half of the year. From U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's perspective, the data reaffirms the need to maintain ultra-accommodative monetary policy until unemployment returns to more desirable levels, according to Michael Woolfolk, managing director at BNY Mellon Global markets in New York. "Without explicit evidence of inflationary problems ...