Saturday, August 7, 2010

Dollar near bear market territory

How the once-mighty dollar has fallen -- again.

The dollar tumbled against the yen and euro Friday morning after July's U.S. job report brought more bad news. Private sector employers added just 71,000 jobs last month, and total nonfarm payrolls contracted more than expected.

"Overall, unquestionably a disappointing report," economists at Capital Economics in Toronto wrote.

The latest sign that job growth isn't keeping up sent the trade-weighted dollar index down to 80.3. That's 9% below its peak just two months ago.

Stock market watchers call a 10% decline a bear market, and the term doesn't seem too bold given the speed of the sentiment shift we have seen this summer.

In June, when the dollar topped out at $1.18 against the euro and 92 yen, the recovery in the United States looked more robust and Europe seemed on the verge of being sent to its death bed. Some euroskeptics were calling for the dollar to trade at parity with the euro. (more)

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