Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 2:44PM ET - Canadian Markets close in 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Dollar climbs to one-month high on economic jitters

by By Ben Rooney, CNNMoney.com staff reporter
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
provided by

The dollar rose Tuesday as investors shied away from more risky assets ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and key jobs data due later this week.

The greenback hit a one-month high against a basket of currencies. The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.6% to 76.75.

The euro slid 0.8% against the dollar to $1.4658, while the U.K. pound was down 0.6% at $1.6320. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was up slightly to �90.26.

Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in London, said he expects the euro to struggle "as it joins the risk currencies lower against U.S. dollar and Japanese yen."

Tuesday's advance came as European markets tumbled on concerns about the U.K. banking sector. U.S. stock futures were lower as investors brace for news on the nation's monetary policy.

The U.S. central bank, which kicks off a two-day meeting Tuesday, is widely expected to hold interest rates at historic lows near 0%. Investors will be tuning into the Fed's statement, due out Wednesday, for any hints as to when it plans to start removing the trillions of stimulus funds it has poured into the economy since the financial crisis took hold.

Investors are also awaiting the U.S. government's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com believe payrolls shrank by 175,000 jobs in October after a loss of 263,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate is expected to hit 9.9% after climbing to 9.8% the month before.

On Tuesday, a reading on factory orders comes out at 10 a.m. ET. Reports on auto sales in October are also on tap.

© 2009 CNNMoney.com. All Rights Reserved., CNNMoney. All Rights Reserved.

Rates

Rates provided by Fiscal Agents

  • Mortgages Type Rate
    1-yr Closed 3.54%
    3-yr Closed 4.15%
    5-yr Closed 4.97%
  • GICs Type Rate
    1-yr Annual 0.95%
    3-yr Annual 2.12%
    5-yr Annual 2.77%
  • RRSP Type Rate
    1-yr 0.94%
    3-yr 2.09%
    5-yr 2.75%

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