The dollar rose slightly against major currencies on Friday as risk appetite in currency trading was still suppressed by recession worries despite the sharp rise of U.S. stock market.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average jumped back above the 8000 level on the news that President-elect Barack Obama plans to name New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary.
The report cleared some uncertainty over the economic team of Obama's government, but worries over economic outlook remained amid weak economic data released in previous sessions.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank might cut interest rates again in December amid signs Europe's recession is deepening.
Business activity in the euro zone fell in November to a 10-year low, the latest Purchasing Managers' Index report showed. The data didn't have a huge impact on euro in Friday trading. Analysts said the 15-nation currency could keep weakening against the dollar in near term as expectations about a rate cut from the ECB rose.
The euro bought 1.2502 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.2507 dollars it bought late Thursday. The pound fell to 1.4777 dollars from 1.4812 dollars.
The dollar rose to 1.2243 Swiss francs from 1.2233 Swiss francs, and rose to 95.37 Japanese yen from 94.79 Japanese yen. It rose to 1.2873 Canadian dollars from 1.2842 Canadian dollars.
(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2008)
