TW: Dollar drops to a 1-month low against the euro
The dollar fell to a one-month low against the euro Tuesday as investors believe European officials will soon beef up the region's plans for countering its debt crisis.
Ministers from the 17 euro nations met in Brussels Tuesday as part of an overhaul of the European Union's crisis management strategy. Pressure on European policymakers to increase the current (EURO)750 billion ($1 trillion) bailout fund is growing, analysts said. There is now hope that officials can approve a more comprehensive solution by February or March, said UBS analyst Chris Walker.
Greece and Ireland have already received multibillion dollar bailouts. Investors fear Portugal or even Spain may be next.
In late morning trading in New York, the euro rose to $1.3401 from $1.3293 late Monday. It earlier touched as high as $1.3465, its strongest point since Dec. 14. The euro has slid about 7 percent since early November because of the problems of the bloc's most indebted countries.
The British pound rose to $1.5986 from $1.5884, while the dollar was unchanged from Monday at 82.71 Japanese yen. In other trading, the U.S. currency rose to 99.14 Canadian cents from 98.76 Canadian cents, easing off a two-and-a-half year low of 98.32 Canadian cents from earlier in the day.
A recent surge in the price of oil has propelled the Canadian dollar higher. Canada is a major exporter of oil and other raw materials, and its currency tends to benefit when commodity prices rise. Oil is trading near two-year highs at about $92 per barrel on the Nymex.
The dollar dipped to 0.9624 Swiss franc from 0.9649 Swiss franc.