LONDON, 30 March 2006 — The dollar continued to trade within a tight range against the euro yesterday. The euro edged up to 1.2013 dollars in late European trading, from 1.2000 dollars late on Tuesday in New York. The dollar stood at 117.92 yen, from 117.92 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, European stock markets climbed yesterday. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares climbed 0.39 percent to close at 5,959.2 points. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 gained 0.41 percent to 5,914.78 points and in Paris the CAC 40 won 0.59 percent to 5,180.25 points.
In New York, US shares swung higher yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 60.36 points (0.54 percent) to 11,214.90 while the tech-heavy NASDAQ climbed 25.04 points (1.09 percent) to 2,329.50 at 1640 GMT. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index added 8.92 points (0.69 percent) to 1,302.15.
In Asia, Sydney, Bombay and again closed at record highs, Singapore struck its best level in six years, Tokyo had its highest close in more than five and a half years and Shanghai finished the day at a 12-month peak.
Oil prices briefly rose to the highest points in almost two months, above $66.0 in New York, yesterday after the biggest weekly drop in US gasoline (petrol) inventories since August 2003, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, fell 17 cents to $65.90 per barrel in pit trading. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery rose 13 cents to $65.10 per barrel in electronic trade.