Sterling tumbles as Fitch reiterates threat to U.K.'s AAA rating
By Deborah Levine & William L. Watts, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar regained an earlier advance versus major currencies on Tuesday, bouncing off a 15-month low, as U.S. stocks turned lower in late morning trading.
Earlier, the dollar advanced as a ratings agency's threat to downgrade the U.K.'s AAA rating spooked investors and increased the desire for the relative safe-haven status of the U.S. unit.
Currency traders will also be listening to speeches by a handful of Federal Reserve officials.
The dollar index (DXY 75.20, +0.17, +0.23%) , a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of major rivals, traded at 75.189, compared with 75.042 in North American trading late Monday, when it notched a 15-month low at 74.93.
The British pound sold off sharply during the European session after David Riley, Fitch Ratings' co-head of global sovereign ratings, told Reuters in an interview Tuesday that the U.K. has the highest risk of major economies of losing its AAA status. See full story.
The language echoed a Fitch report from late July, but Riley's remarks proved enough to trigger a round of profit-taking a day after the sterling rose to a three-month high against the dollar. See more on U.K. rating warning.
In recent action, the pound fetched $1.6695, down from $1.6763 late Monday. The pound had slipped to a low near $1.6600.
The euro rose as much as 0.5% against the pound earlier on, but it recently traded up 0.1% to 89.54 pence.
"After yesterday's collapse, the U.S. dollar is consolidating a bit," said T.J. Marta, founder and chief strategist at Marta on the Markets.
The trend of betting the U.S. currency will fall further, which has been prevalent since March, remains firmly in place for the foreseeable future, some analysts say. See full story.
"There are few other games in town than USD [U.S. dollar] bashing and while intra-day volatility may remain high, there is probably a requirement for some divergent economic performances before the bearish USD trend is reversed," Société Générale strategist Patrick Bennett wrote in a note to clients.
The dollar stood at 89.86 Japanese yen, down from 90.06 yen late Monday.
Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, said the banking system is still far from being fully recovered and will be hampered by weakness in the commercial real estate sector. But for the overall economy, the commercial real estate sector should not be a "show stopper" but just a headwind on growth, he added.
Separately, Janet Yellen, the president of the San Francisco Fed, said the most recent economic data suggest that the U.S. could be about to experience another jobless recovery. She also said the recovery will be gradual and vulnerable and the credit crunch has not disappeared entirely.
The euro fell to fresh lows during the U.S. session to buy $1.4951, compared with $1.4998 late Monday.
The euro had traded above the $1.50 level but backed off when the German ZEW investor sentiment index posted a larger-than-expected July decline. See full story.
Also figuring in the foreign-exchange action, Japan's current-account surplus unexpectedly rose 0.2% in September compared to the same month last year, government data showed Tuesday.
