Dollar Weakens Against Euro As Investors Turn Optimistic

12:45, 19th November 2012

(RTTNews) - The dollar has weakened against the Euro at the start of the new trading week. The final three days of the previous trading week were dominated by investor fear that the U.S. would fall back into recession if a deal could not be reached to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. This led to a decrease in the risk appetite and a flight to safe havens, like the U.S. currency.

A bipartisan group of U.S. Congressional leaders made statements Friday afternoon regarding the progress of the first day of negotiations. Republicans announced that revenues are now on the table, as long as they are accompanied by spending cuts. The leaders announced that they are not going to wait until the last minute to come to a solution.

Over the weekend, President Obama stated that he is confident "we can get our fiscal situation dealt with."

Eurozone finance ministers are heading for another round of talks on Greece in Brussels on Tuesday, seeking a plan to bridge a financing gap created by a two-year extension of Greece's bailout program, while settling a dispute with the International Monetary Fund on the same. There are also reports that a tentative approval of the next tranche of aid to Greece is likely to be approved tomorrow.

The finance ministers of the 17 euro area nations, known as the Eurogroup, will also discuss how to restore Greek debt sustainability by 2020, as this is crucial in restoring investor's faith in the single currency. The Eurozone should decide next week on financing Greece for 2013 and 2014, European Central Bank policymaker Joerg Asmussen told German broadcaster ZDF.

"But you have to be honest and say we do not really expect the country to have access to markets in 2015 and 2016," he said Sunday. "That means a follow-up programme would be necessary."

The dollar is pulling back from Friday's 3-day high of $1.2689 against the Euro and has reached $1.2820 on Monday, its lowest level since November 6th.

Eurozone's construction production decreased in September after recording growth in the previous two months, preliminary data released by statistical office Eurostat showed Monday. Construction output decreased a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent month-on-month in September, reversing the 0.6 percent rise seen in August. In July, production had increased by 0.3 percent.

A leading indicator of the French economy increased for the third consecutive month in September, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed Monday. The leading economic index increased to 114.9 in September from 114.2 in August. In July, the reading was 113.5.

The greenback has bounced back from an early low of $1.5922 against the pound sterling on Monday, to around $1.5900.

Signs of recovery are emerging in the British property market with house prices posting the least severe November fall in three years along with some positive developments in other indicators, a survey by Rightmove revealed Monday.

Average asking price for a property in the UK fell 2.6 percent month-on-month in November to GBP 236,761. This was the weakest November fall since 2009. In October, house prices were up 3.5 percent.

Prices were up 2 percent year-on-year, the highest annual rate of increase seen in November since 2007. Excluding London, where prices continued to show an upward trend, the overall house price index still rose 0.2 percent on an annual basis.

The buck rose to nearly a 7-month high of Y81.579 against the Japanese Yen early Monday, but has since eased back to around Y81.230.

Japan's leading index decreased slightly more than estimated in September, final data from the Cabinet Office showed Monday. The leading index designed to measure the direction of the economy in the months ahead, came in at 91.6, down from the initial estimate of 91.7. The indicator dropped from 93.2 in August.

Existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in the month of October, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday, with sales rebounding after falling in the previous month.

NAR said existing home sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.69 million in September. Economists had expected existing home sales to fall to 4.70 million from the 4.75 million originally reported for the previous month.

Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has seen a substantial improvement in the month of November, the National Association of Home Builders revealed in a report on Monday, with the homebuilder confidence index jumping to a new six-year high.

The report showed that the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index surged up to 46 in November from 41 in October. Economists had expected the index to a show a more modest increase to a reading of 42.