July 23 (FNX News) - Comments from Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and a weaker-than-expected German Ifo report have enabled the U.S. dollar to gain ground against the euro this morning, analysts said. "Euro/dollar pulled back on a weaker-than-expected German Ifo report," said Margaret Kudarauskas, senior currency analyst with CurrencyNetwork.com.
The western German Ifo index fell to 89.5 in June. That was down from expectations of a 90 reading and a revised 98.5 for the previous month. David Gilmore, partner with Foreign Exchange Analytics, also cited the Ifo report. He added that comments Sunday by O'Neill have boosted the dollar not only against the euro but other currencies as well.
"He reiterated support for a strong dollar. He also said something new, which is that the dollar is not too strong," said Gilmore. "I think O'Neill is deliberately trying to clarify any confusion created by (President) Bush's remarks in Genoa....It sounded almost as if Bush was endorsing a weaker dollar, but that's not the case. The bottom line is that O'Neill is the messenger on dollar policy, not President Bush."
The euro is currently at 86.73 U.S. cents, compared to the Friday North American close of 87.10. // www.akmos.ru