Capital helps boost dollar

THE US dollar gained the most in three weeks against the euro yesterday after a Treasury Department report showed investors bought US assets at the fastest pace since February.

Foreign investors bought a net $71.2 billion (€57.53bn) of Treasury notes, corporate bonds and other securities in June, compared with $55.8bn (€45bn) a month earlier. The report reinforced speculation the US is attracting enough overseas capital to offset its trade deficit.

“This is a large enough number to be a positive surprise,” said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist in New York at Bank of New York.