North-West Financial Broker
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15 Feb - Fundamental
The dollar rose against major currencies Monday as lingering debt concerns about Greece and Dubai boosted the currency's appeal as a safe haven for investors.
What prices are doing: The dollar rose 0.2% versus the euro to $1.3069 and was up 0.2% against the U.K. pound to $1.5677. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar edged up slightly to ¥89.96.
The dollar was mixed last week as European leaders met to discuss Greece's debt and after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke outlined a plan to withdraw trillions of the dollars used to prop up the nation's economy.
What's driving prices: Trading was light Monday with U.S. markets closed for Presidents Day and many Asian markets shut for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The dollar pushed higher as investors worried that a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on Monday may not provide a concrete plan of how Greece will be rescued from defaulting on its debt.
Risk appetite was also dampened amid concerns that government-backed Dubai World may reschedule its debt, analysts at financial firm BNP Paribas said in a research note.
«While the Dubai problem does involve relatively small amounts of outstanding debt it will remind investors of how difficult a solution for Europe's peripheral might become,» BNP Paribas said.
