Dollar Up On Sterling And Yen; Down Versus Euro, Friday, May 25, 2007 4:00:34 PM

The U.S. dollar was generally stronger in trading with its major counterparts on Friday morning in New York. The buck was up on the sterling and yen amid choppy trading. The greenback slid against the euro, but made up a significant chunk of its losses with a late-morning rally. Trading took place amid a report from the National Association of Realtors which showed that existing home sales unexpectedly showed a significant decline compared to the previous month.

The dollar dropped against the euro during Friday`s trading, but rallied around mid-day to recoup some of its losses. The greenback slipped off of a 6 week high of 1.3412 that it touched multiple times during overnight trading. The buck began to slip around 2 pm Eastern Time and continued to do so. The decline came amid the release of data showing that German import prices grew 0.5% in April, beating expectations for zero growth. After leveling off for a few hours, it plunged again at around 10 a.m. with the release of weak existing home sales data in the U.S. and reached 1.3469 by 10:30 a.m. ET. However, the dollar rebounded within an hour to erase those losses of the latest slide. Afternoon trading was generally flat. The pair traded at 1.3446 at 3:45 p.m.

The greenback climbed against the Japanese yen during the morning`s trading in New York. The dollar`s advance came as data showed Japan`s core inflation fell at a slower pace in April, boosting expectations that the Bank of Japan will lift interest rates in coming months. The news caused the dollar to rise to a daily high of 121.76 around 7:30 am Eastern Time. The dollar slid slightly before stabilizing. The greenback remained near that level throughout the afternoon and touched a daily high of 121.76 at 3:15 p.m.

The dollar was up amid choppy trading versus the pound on Friday in New York. The greenback touched a daily low of 1.9874 around 3 am Eastern Time. The decline came after the release of data showing the UK economy grew 0.7% sequentially in the first quarter. The dollar regained some ground, however, and around 8:30 am Eastern Time, the greenback touched a daily high of 1.3836 against the sterling. It fell at around 10 a.m. again with the release of weak existing home sales data in the U.S. The greenback climbed later in the morning to erase those losses. Afternoon trading was a little more stable. The pair traded at 1.9844 at 3:45 p.m.

The NAR report showed that existing home sales fell 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 5.99 million units in April from an upwardly revised 6.15 million unit rate in March. Economists expected sales to edge up to a 6.13 million unit rate from the 6.12 million unit rate originally reported for the previous month.

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