US dollar, UK pound weaken

The US dollar weakened Tuesday after prepared comments from US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged the risks involved in President Barack Obama’s plan to rescue the US financial sector.

In the written remarks, due to be delivered later in the day, Mr. Geithner said that the plan will take time to work, will cost a great deal of money, and will be risky

He also acknowledged that the American public has so far been unconvinced that rescue efforts will succeed.

In late morning trade in New York the yen had strengthened in relation to both the dollar and the euro, trading at ¥90.735 to the greenback and at ¥118.1291 to the euro, while it took $1.3019 to buy the euro.

The pound was also lost ground during the session, with its decline coming on separate reports showing that UK home sales are at their lowest levels in thirty years and that retail sales in the UK in January grew at their slowest rate since 1995.

At just past 11 a.m. in New York, the pound traded at 88.84p to the euro while it took $1.4654 to buy a pound and the yen was trading at ¥132.9645 to the UK currency.

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