LONDON, 7 October 2003 — The euro broke through the 1.17-dollar barrier here yesterday on suggestions from European Central Bank head Wim Duisenberg that a further fall in the dollar was likely given the US balance of payments deficit.
The single currency was trading at 1.1714 dollars in late-day deals after 1.1579 in New York Friday night. The dollar was at 110.83 yen against 110.84 on Friday.
Traders attributed the surge in the euro, erasing dollar gains last week, to Duisenberg’s comments in the Spanish economic newspaper Expansion.
He told the paper that a readjustment of the dollar was inevitable and that he hoped a shift in the currency’s value would take place gradually.
The euro was changing hands at 1.1714 dollars from 1.1579 late on Friday in New York, 129.82 yen (128.35), 0.6991 pounds (0.6958) and 1.5463 Swiss francs (1.5469).
The dollar was being quoted at 110.83 yen (110.84) and 1.3201 Swiss francs (1.3359).
Meanwhile, European stock markets suffered a bout of profit-taking and closed lower yesterday after posting strong gains on Friday.
The London FTSE 100 gave up 0.09 percent to end the session at 4,270.1 after three straight advances last week. The French CAC in listless trading lost 0.46 percent to finish at 3,271.36. In Frankfurt the DAX was down 0.96 percent at 3,386.28 in mid-afternoon activity. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro-zone issues fell 0.85 percent to 2,483.09.
Elsewhere share prices fell 0.96 percent to 320.41 in Amsterdam, 0.69 percent to 25,349 in Milan, 0.41 percent to 6,894.2 in Madrid, and 0.05 percent to 2,103.95 in Brussels. The Swiss Market Index declined 0.80 percent to 5,161.5.
In New York, stocks added to gains in choppy midday trading yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 41 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,613, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 5 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,035. The technology-laced NASDAQ Composite Index was up 11 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,892.
Asian share prices rose yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei-225 index gave up some of its early gains but still edged up 30.85 points to close at 10,740.14. In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng index gained 125.76 points to close at 11,734.48. In Sydney, the All Ordinaries index was up 17.2 points at 3,222.9.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 47.59 points at 1,717.89. In Seoul, the composite index closed up 7.89 points at 723.13.
In London, the price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil for November delivery climbed 17 cents to $28.88 per barrel in late deals.
New York’s benchmark light sweet crude November contract won 28 cents to $30.68 per barrel in early trading.