Dollar Steady Near Multi-Week Highs Versus Euro And Sterling

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The dollar was steady against its major rivals on Thursday in New York as worries over Greek and Spanish credict concerns offset rising global equities. The buck remained near multi-week highs against the euro and sterling.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that the Troubled Asset Relief Program would cost tax payers about $200 billion less than originally projected.

In economic news, a Labor Department report showed that initial jobless claims rose to 474,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 457,000. The modest increase came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 455,000.

Meanwhile, a Commerce Department report showed that the trade deficit narrowed to $32.9 billion in October from a revised $35.7 billion in September. Economists had been expecting the deficit to widen to $36.8 billion from the $36.5 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The dollar remained in a range near a five-week high versus the euro, moving close to the 1.4700 mark in the early afternoon. The buck reached as high as 1.4668 earlier in the week.

The European Central Bank said its Governing Council expects the euro area economy to grow at a moderate pace in 2010, recognizing that the recovery process is likely to be uneven and that the outlook remains subject to high uncertainty. It said the current rates remain appropriate.

The dollar was range-bound near a six-week high against the British pound, moving at 1.6250 in the early afternoon. The buck reached as high a s1.6166 in yesterday's trading.

The Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged as expected on Thursday for the ninth month in a row and maintained the size of its quantitative easing measures at GBP 200 billion.

The dollar saw little direction agains the yen, moving near 88.18. The buck had dipped below 87.40 yesterday amid choppy trading.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)