LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The dollar was steady against the euro,
although it failed to claw back any of last night's losses as investors
continued to fret about the U.S. financial sector.
The dollar fell Monday night after oil prices rebounded and American Express
posted disappointing earnings, weighing on equity markets despite better than
expected results from Bank of America. Earnings reports published so far by the
major U.S. banks have mainly surprised on the upside, but analysts said
investors remain wary that several major institutions are set to report major
losses.
"There's an expectation that more bad news will follow as the regional banks
report over the coming days," said Gary Thomson, head of sales trading at CMC
Markets.
At 0819 GMT the euro was trading at $1.5935 having been at $1.5923 at 0200
GMT.
With no major European data scheduled for release this morning, analysts
said major currencies are likely to remain rangebound and simply follow the
fluctuation in commodity and equity markets.
"The difficulty is that there is little really for the markets to get their
teeth into, and with no data of note out yesterday or today, this pattern may
persist," said Daragh Maher, currency strategist at Calyon.
A speech later thought by Philadelphia Fed chief Charles Plosser may provide
some direction, and European economic fundamentals may come to the fore later
this week with the key German Ifo and euro zone PMI surveys scheduled for
release.
Meanwhile the pound was firmer against the dollar, trading at $2.0037
compared to $2.0021 earlier this morning, ahead of outgoing Bank of England
deputy governor John Gieve's appearance before the Treasury Select Committee.
Gieve, who has faced major criticism for his handling of the Northern Rock
crisis, is due to give his views on Banking reform.
rachel.armstrong@thomsonreuters.com
rar/jfr
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