By: Barbara Zigah
In early morning trading in New York, the U.S. Dollar is broadly higher and recouping some of last week’s late losses, supported by recent comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman who suggested the strong possibility that additional quantitative easing would be forthcoming. As at 8:38 a.m. (EST), against the Euro the U.S. Dollar was trading at 1.3255, off from Friday’s close of 1.3415 in New York. Against the Canadian Dollar, the greenback is also trading higher, at .9918, off from the .9956 close on Friday.
Ben Bernanke, the Fed chief, in a media appearance this past weekend, signaled the need for additional stimulus in the U.S. economy; this apparently in response to Friday’s disappointing labor data which pushed the greenback broadly lower as the trading week drew to a close. According to Mr. Bernanke, the U.S. economy is in danger of being unable to sustain itself with GDP growth unremarkable at 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, yet he pointed out that the likelihood of falling back into a recession was remote.
In the interview, Mr. Bernanke refuted China’s complaints about the prospect of a QEIII, as it’s now being called, charging China with harming the American economy with their artificially devalued currency.