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Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries

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To: energyplay who wrote (42452)12/4/2003 4:21:16 PM
From: elmatador  Read Replies (2) of 74559
 
<<possibility of introducing exchange rate controls should an extreme situation threaten monetary union.<<

Euro at fifth consecutive high against dollar
By Jennifer Hughes
Published: December 4 2003 18:07 | Last Updated: December 4 2003 18:07


The euro rose to its fifth lifetime high against the dollar in as many days on Thursday as investors continued to push the US currency lower ahead of Friday's closely-watched US employment report.


The euro slid in early London trading on a newspaper report about potential eurozone currency controls, which market participants were quick to shrug aside. Reports in the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper said the European Commission had investigated the possibility of introducing exchange rate controls should an extreme situation threaten monetary union. But European officials dismissed the suggestions.

Traders said profit-taking after the euro's Wednesday highs also dragged the single currency lower.

There was little immediate reaction to the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates on hold. But the euro made its way to new highs at $1.2155 in early US trading as investors were reassured by the ECB's avoidance of any comment about the currency's strength at its post-meeting press conference.

Strategists said the market which is sensitive after the moves of recent days, may have also reacted to slightly weaker US unemployment benefits claims data. Claims rose slightly on the week against expectations for a continued fall.

"The market tends to be more sensitive to the jobless claims data just ahead of a payrolls report and some may have inferred from the jobless numbers that payrolls may also disappoint," said Kamal Sharma, currencies strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. DKW predicts payrolls will have risen by 135,000 in November while consensus expectations are for a 150,000 increase.

Last month's report surprised investors by being higher than expected and included significant upward revisions to previous months' data, but the dollar's gains were short-lived.

"A second successive negative reaction to a solid payroll number would suggest that cyclical factors are continuing to be ignored," said Paul Robson, strategist at Bank One.

The euro wasat $1.21 by midsession in New York on Thursday.

Sterling failed to track the euro's rise as profit-taking set in. The pound slipped to $1.7178 in early US trading after hitting five-year highs in Asian trade on Wednesday at $1.7317.

The Bank of England left interest rates on hold after its meeting on Thursday. There was little real expectation the bank would raise rates for a second month running, but traders said there had been suggestions of another rate rise following the Reserve Bank of Australia's increase on Wednesday.

The Australian dollar rallied to fresh six-year highs against the dollar after the RBA's announcement, and hit yet more highs on Thursday at US$0.7381.

Be careful! Porsche's price is increasing by the day -since they are made in Eurozone
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