Dollar slips against euro

THE dollar slipped against the euro and Swiss franc yesterday despite hints of recovery in the US labour market, depressed by soaring oil prices and news of a flare-up of fighting in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.

The dollar also lost a little ground against the euro after an index of US leading indicators declined more than expected. Earlier, initial US weekly jobless claims dipped to 331,000 for the latest week, below forecasts for 335,000.

“The (claims) report was pretty much on the expectations,” said John Beerling, regional foreign exchange trading desk manager for Wells Fargo in Minneapolis, but he added that “the market is in a mood to test the upside in the euro.”