The
dollar fell against the yen and euro after the International Monetary
Fund said the U.S. housing slump still poses ``serious risks'' to
financial markets.
The currency declined against the
Swiss franc and British pound before private and industry reports this
week that may show the housing market is worsening. The euro gained
after a report showed German producer-price inflation accelerated. The
Australian dollar rose to its highest level in 24 years after minutes
of the central bank's last meeting signaled policy makers considered
raising rates.
The yen held gains earlier after the
Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent. Governor
Masaaki Shirakawa told a press conference that inflation risks are
rising globally. The Federal Reserve has cut rates seven times since
September to 2 percent.
The euro gained against the
dollar after a government report showed German producer-price
inflation, an early indicator of price pressures in the economy,
accelerated to the fastest pace in almost two years in April on energy
costs.
Prices for goods from newsprint to plastics
increased 5.2 percent from a year earlier, the most since August 2006,
the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists
expected a 4.7 percent gain
Center for European
Economic Research said its index of investor and analyst expectations
declined to minus 41.4, from minus 40.7 in April. Economists expected a
gain to minus 37, according to the median of 41 forecasts in a The
single currency briefly pared earlier gains after an industry report
showed Investor confidence in Germany unexpectedly fell. The
ZEWBloomberg News survey. The gauge reached a 15-year low of minus 41.6
in January. A negative reading means that pessimists outnumber
optimists.
Losses in the U.S. dollar may be limited by
speculation minutes from the Fed's April 30 meeting will show the
central bank is concerned rising commodity prices will fan inflation.
Producer prices rose 0.4 percent in April after jumping 1.1 percent the
prior month, a Labor Department report may show today, according to a
Bloomberg News survey.