USD, pound weaken

The US dollar saw declines after a private report showed more job losses in the US in June and on the probability that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady for the time being even as expectations are high that the European Central Bank will raise Eurozone interest rates at its next meeting tomorrow.

In late-morning trade in New York, the dollar traded at $1.5868 to the euro while it took ¥106.0300 to buy a dollar and ¥168.2431 to buy a euro.

The Canadian dollar also gained on the US dollar, to C$1.0154 to the dollar, based on the new jobs numbers.

The pound weakened after home builder Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) was unable to raise capital even as the UK construction sector contracted at its fastest rate in 11 years in June, lowering sentiment that the Bank of England will raise interest rates soon.

Losses for the pound were tempered by jobs data out of the United States, and at late morning in New York the pound traded at 79.65p to the euro while it took $1.9921 to buy a pound.

The South African rand strengthened versus the US dollar, trading at $7.8235 to the dollar on expectations that higher oil prices will lead to higher interest rates there, with gains coming even though motor vehicle sales in South Africa were down again in June and consumer sentiment there has declined.

The Australian dollar also gained on the greenback, to 96.26 cents US to the Aussie, on new data showing that retail sales there were up in May.

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