CURRENCY : Dollar Edges Up; Dealers Wait for Trade Report
The dollar drifted slightly higher in quiet trading Monday in advance of the scheduled release today of the U.S. trade deficit for March.
Gold prices rose. Republic National Bank of New York said gold bullion was bid at $455 an ounce as of 4 p.m. EDT, up from $451.10 late Friday.
Foreign exchange dealers said most traders had squared their positions and were waiting to see if the U.S. trade deficit would narrow as expected. The deficit was $13.8 billion in February.
“More or less, everybody’s waiting for tomorrow,” said Peter Wild, senior trader for Bank Julius Baer & Co. in New York. He said he believed that many traders were expecting the deficit to fall to $12.5 billion or $13 billion.
Wild said there was no strong reaction in the currency market to the Federal Reserve’s report that industrial production jumped 0.7% in April, the biggest rise in six months.
The British pound inched up early in the day, but light intervention by the Bank of England encouraged some profit taking and helped the currency end mixed.
In Tokyo, where trading ends as Europe’s business day begins, the dollar rose 0.03 Japanese yen to a closing 124.73. Late in London, it was quoted at 124.75 yen. At the end of the trading day in New York, the dollar rose to 124.92 yen from 124.78 late Friday.
Late Dollar Rates
One British pound cost $1.8915 in London late Monday, up from late Friday’s $1.8910. Later in New York, the pound fell to $1.8890 from $1.8903 late Friday.
Other late dollar rates in New York, compared to late Friday’s rates, included: 1.6892 West German marks, up from 1.6837; 1.4049 Swiss francs, up from 1.4006; 1.2337 Canadian dollars, up from 1.2333; 5.7275 French francs, up from 5.7108, and 1,255.50 Italian lire, up from 1,251.50.
Other late dollar rates in Europe, compared to late Friday’s prices, included: 1.6860 West German marks, up from 1.6830; 1.4013 Swiss francs, up from 1.4000; 5.7170 French francs, up from 5.7063; 1.8890 Dutch guilders, up from 1.8855; 1,253.45 Italian lire, up from 1,249.00, and 1.2322 Canadian dollars, down from 1.2336.
Gold prices rose in European trading. Bullion dealers said there was no market affecting news, but there was some strong overnight buying in Hong Kong and then in New York at opening time by dealers.
At the beginning of the trading day in Hong Kong, gold bullion rose $2.39 an ounce to close at a bid of $455.24. Later in London, gold sold for a bid of $455, up from $449. In Zurich, Switzerland, the bid was $454, up from $450.
On the Commodity Exchange in New York, gold for current delivery closed at $454.90, up from $452.20.
Silver was quoted in London late Monday at a bid $6.70 an ounce, up from Friday’s $6.52. On New York’s Comex, silver bullion for current delivery closed at $6.583, down from $6.632.
