Dollar hits new 8-month highs

New York (July 27)  The US dollar hit new eight-month highs against the euro on Friday after stronger-than-expected data on US durable goods orders boosted the greenback, while weak German business sentiment heightened concerns about the euro zone. The Commerce Department said Friday that orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods rose 0.7 percent in June, beating economists' expectations for a 0.5 percent rise.

Germany's Ifo survey of business sentiment based on a monthly survey of some 7,000 firms fell to 108.0 in July, marking its third consecutive monthly decline and missing estimates of 109.4, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The euro hit a new eight-month low against the dollar of $1.3427 in the wake of the US durable goods orders data, which came on the heels of more positive US jobless data Thursday.

The euro was last down 0.2 percent against the dollar to trade at $1.34365. The dollar was flat against the Japanese yen at 101.8 yen, and was up 0.19 percent against the Swiss franc to trade at 0.90435 franc after hitting a fresh five-month high of 0.90485. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.14 percent at 80.982.

Source:  Brecorder