LONDON, 29 November 2007 — The dollar firmed against the euro yesterday despite a decline in orders for US durable goods and renewed prospects for another cut in US interest rates.

The single European currency in late-day trade was at 1.4749 dollars after 1.4825 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar was meanwhile trading at 110.33 yen, up from 109.01 on Tuesday.

“The dollar is a bit stronger as everyone thinks it has been oversold,” said Mic Mills, a trader at TradIndex.com.

The gains were mainly against the euro after the single currency surged to a new record high of close to 1.50 dollars last week.

Mills said currency markets would remain dominated by technical trades and corrections for the time being. A sluggish economy and suggestions that further cuts in US interest rates were likely should in principle make the dollar less attractive to investors.

Mills added that the broader and weaker trend in the dollar was still intact given the gloomy outlook for the US economy and prospects for further interest rate reductions.

In late European trade yesterday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4749 dollars, against 1.4825 late on Tuesday, at 162.75 yen (161.64), 0.7133 pounds (0.7166) and 1.6499 Swiss francs (1.6390).

The dollar stood at 110.33 yen (109.01) and 1.1186 Swiss francs (1.1055). The pound was at 2.0678 dollars (2.0685).

In London, the price of gold dropped to $801.75 per ounce from $810.75 late on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, European stock exchanges posted strong gains yesterday, with the London FTSE 100 index surging 2.70 percent to close at 6,306.20 points.

In Paris the CAC 40 added 2.34 percent to finish at 5,561.21 while in Frankfurt the DAX rose 2.55 percent to 7,723.66.

Elsewhere there were gains of 2.02 percent to 4,090.98 in Brussels, 2,06 percent to 38,487 in Milan, 1.62 percent to 500.21 in Amsterdam and 2.61 percent to 8,650.82 on the Swiss Market Index.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 215.42 points, or 1.66 percent, at 13,173.86.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 27.86 points, or 1.95 percent, at 1,456.09. The NASDAQ Composite Index was up 65.24 points, or 2.53 percent, at 2,646.04.