Durable goods report sends dollar higher

The dollar gained on Tuesday after the US Commerce Department said that durable goods orders were 5.2 percent higher in December than they were in November, leading some analysts to expect that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by only a quarter of a percentage point when it meets later this week rather than the half a percentage point many had predicted earlier.

In early afternoon in New York, the dollar was trading at $1.4766 to the euro and at $1.9856 to the pound.

A return to carry trades hurt the yen, which declined to ¥106.9950 to the dollar, while the Japanese currency fell to ¥60.313 to the Brazilian real and to ¥19.659 to the Norwegian krone.

The return to carry trades and a new report that showed that Swiss exports dropped by 2.9 percent in December, sending the Swiss franc lower against all major currencies.

In early afternoon trade in New York, the Swiss franc traded at SFr1.0942 to the dollar, at SFr1.6157 to the euro, and at SFr2.1728 to the pound.

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