The yen traded near a record low against the euro as Bank of America
Corp. said second-quarter profit declined less than analysts estimated.
The pound dropped versus the euro as a report showed U.K. house prices
fell in July for the first time since data began in 2002. Bank of
America, the largest U.S. consumer and home lender, became the fourth
of the nation's five biggest banks to post better-than-estimated
results.
``The world looks a little more peaceful for the time being,'' said
Alan Ruskin, head of international currency strategy at RBS Greenwich
Capital Markets in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``But longer-term concerns
about the U.S. economy haven't diminished.''
Bank of America's net income fell to $3.41 billion, or 72 cents a
share, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said today in a
statement. The average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
was 54 cents.
The bank added $2.2 billion to loan loss reserves. The world's biggest
banks and brokerages have disclosed $447 billion of writedowns and
losses because of a credit-market slump triggered by mortgage defaults.
JPMorgan & Chase Co., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.
reported second-quarter results last week that exceeded analysts'
estimates.
Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade showed an 8 percent chance the
Federal Reserve will increase its 2 percent target rate for overnight
lending between banks by a quarter-percentage point at its Aug. 5
meeting, compared with 12 percent odds a week ago.
``The Fed has simply not been in a position to raise interest rates and
fight inflation, so people have been shunning the dollar,'' said Neil
Mellor, a currency strategist in London at Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
Leading economic indicators dropped 0.1 percent in June after a revised
0.2 percent decline the prior month, the Conference Board reported
today. The decrease matched the median forecast of 62 economists
surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Currency trading volume today may be about 75 percent of normal levels because of a public holiday in Japan.