Dollar Falls to Eight-Month Low Versus Euro on Fed Outlook; Aussie Jumps

The dollar fell to its weakest since January against the euro and approached a 15-year low versus the yen before reports likely to fuel speculation the Federal Reserve will ease policy further to support prices.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major trading partners, reached a nine-month low before the Labor Department is forecast to say gains in U.S. wholesale costs and consumer prices slowed. The Singapore dollar rose to a record after the island’s central bank said it will steepen and widen the currency’s band to curb inflation. Australia’s dollar jumped to the highest since it began trading freely in 1983 as Asian stocks extended a global rally.

“It really comes down to what the Fed does and we are looking at the prospect of further quantitative easing in November or December,” said Adam Carr, a senior economist at ICAP Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “You’re not likely to see any dollar strength,” until the Fed’s November meeting, he said.

The dollar declined to $1.4039 per euro as of 9:55 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.3961 in New York yesterday, after earlier reaching $1.4058, the lowest level since Jan. 27. It fell to 81.54 yen from 81.81 yen. It touched 81.39 on Oct. 11, the weakest since April 1995. The yen traded at 114.47 per euro after yesterday declining 0.4 percent to 114.20.

The Dollar Index, used by IntercontinentalExchange Inc. to track the greenback against currencies including the euro, yen and Swiss franc, slid to 76.652, the lowest since Jan. 14, before trading at 76.715.

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