Nov 4, 2009
The dollar was mixed against major currencies on Tuesday amid worries over banking sector and strong U.S. economic data.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc will receive 31.3 billion pounds (51 billion dollars) government bailout, the U.K. Treasury announced on Tuesday. Both banks agreed to sell branches and divisions to comply with aid rules.
Swiss bank UBS AG posted a net loss of 564 million Swiss francs (542 million dollars) in the third quarter. It was the fourth consecutive quarterly loss of the bank group.
The dollar gained in early New York trading on Tuesday as banking worries boosted safety-haven demand. The greenback lost grounds later after it was reported that U.S. factory orders rose by 0.9 percent month-to-month in September. The increase, slightly larger than a consensus expectation of 0.8 percent, was mainly driven by machinery and auto orders.
Investors remained cautious ahead of rate decisions from some central banks and a key employment report.
The U.S. Federal Reserve began its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank was expected to leave its benchmark rates unchanged at ultra-low levels. Recent data showed that U.S. has emerged from its longest and deepest recession in the post-war period. But the Fed might not raise rated until 2010 or even 2011 as recovery is not guaranteed, some analysts said.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England will also announce their monetary policy decisions later this week. The U.S. Labor Department will report the closely watched non-farm payroll data on Friday.
The euro bought 1.4702 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.4753 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound rose to 1.6402 dollars from 1.6383 dollars.
The dollar fell to 1.0677 Canadian dollars from 1.0791 Canadian dollars, and rose to 1.0274 Swiss francs from 1.0236 Swiss francs. It fell to 90.32 Japanese yen from 90.35 Japanese yen.