U. S. Dollar fall against the Euro and the Japanese Yen

On February 23, 2009 at 3:44 GMT in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar fell against the Euro and the Japanese Yen as share prices jumped after reports that Citigroup was contemplating the possibility of the U.S. government taking up as much as 40% of the company’s common stock.

United States equity futures moved into positive territory and U.S. Treasuries dropped after the report, which investors said indicated a positive step that would remove some uncertainty about the Citigroup for now.  According to one analyst in Sydney, Australia the markets are accepting the Citigroup report at “face value” and they’re pricing in the fact that the United States government is not “fully” nationalizing its banks. 

The Euro climbed against the U.S. Dollar and traded at $1.2950, its highest level in nearly 2 weeks, before retreating to $1.2914, an increase of 0.7 %.  The U.S. Dollar fell by 0.3% against the Japanese Yen and traded at 93.02 Yen, after loosing more than 1% on Friday.  The Pound Sterling, New Zealand Dollars and the Australian Dollar, which are perceived as high yielding currencies that usually lose when the market is under stress, all gained against the U.S. Dollar.