Dollar gains on consumer confidence

December 28, 2009, 2:16 pm

The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 52.9 in December, only slightly below the 53 level economists expected.

The S&P/Case Shiller report on home prices was also released Tuesday, showing that prices in October flattened after four consecutive months of gains.

“This morning’s economic reports have really failed to ignite any sort of fireworks,” Lien said. “It’s going to be quiet trading for the rest of the day, but the dollar may recuperate some of its earlier losses.”

On Monday, the dollar ended the trading day down against the British pound and the euro, and up versus the yen.

Lien predicts the dollar will rise in January as investors “re-weigh their exposure to U.S. investments” at the beginning of the year.

“Further down the line, at the beginning of the second quarter, we may see the dollar weaken again,” Lien said. “There are still a lot of problems in the U.S. economy, and these fiscal problems will come back to haunt the dollar in the long term.”

The dollar rose 0.2% against the euro to $1.435 on Tuesday. The greenback edged up 0.4% versus the yen to ¥92.03 and increased 0.7% against the British pound to $1.590.

Successful Businessman