Currency Exchanges

Talk is rising again about central banks in key emerging economies shifting some of their largely dollar-dominated currency reserves into euros or other currencies. That is driving up the euro's value against the greenback. The euro jumped to $1.226 on Tuesday from $1.214 on Monday as comments from China, Qatar and Kuwait highlighted the desire of reserve managers to enhance returns on and diversify their huge investment portfolios.

DURING the early days of international bicycle touring, cyclists would hide coins and valuables in the tubing of their bicycle frames to evade robbers. On a 1,300-mile bike tour of Spain and Portugal last year, Steven Sweedler of Plymouth, N.H., found it easier to stash an ATM card in his pocket. "When I land at an airport, I get 200 to 300 euros from the nearest ATM and then pay for lodging and meals with cash," said Sweedler, who has taken six trips overseas since 2001.

On the verge of notching its biggest one-year gain against the euro, the dollar may show even more strength during the last week of the year, a Bloomberg News survey shows. Of 49 traders, strategists and investors surveyed Thursday and Friday from Sydney to New York, 53% advised buying the dollar against the 12-nation currency, up from 31% a week earlier. A majority also recommended buying the dollar versus the yen, compared with 28% last week. The U.S.

China disclosed for the first time Wednesday the composition of the basket of currencies used to set the yuan's value, saying it mainly included the dollar, euro, yen and Korean won. The currencies of Singapore, Britain, Malaysia, Russia, Australia, Canada and Thailand also are considered in setting the yuan's foreign exchange rate, said Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank governor.

Facing intense international pressure, China took a crucial first step Thursday toward overhauling its currency system, a move that could help ease U.S.-China tensions but eventually raise costs for everything from toys and fruit juice to homes. Beijing lifted the value of the yuan by 2.1% against the U.S. dollar, much less than what many American lawmakers had hoped for and too little to alter sales of cheap Chinese goods to the U.S.

The once-robust euro was slammed anew Wednesday after Dutch voters rejected the European Union constitution and fresh economic data suggested a deteriorating outlook for the Continent. The euro slumped to $1.221 in New York from $1.231 on Tuesday. The currency hasn't been this weak against the dollar since September, although it is well above its record low of about 83 cents in 2000. An index of manufacturing activity in the euro region fell to 48.7 in May from 49.

The euro fell slightly against the dollar and yen in Asia in early trading today after French voters rejected the European Union constitution. The legislation was aimed at streamlining decision-making after the EU's expansion last year to 25 members. The euro has dropped 2.8% this month as polls showed ebbing support for the constitution and reports indicated the region's economy was struggling to grow.

China launched a new foreign exchange trading system Wednesday that allows domestic trading in currencies other than the yuan, a milestone in the country's effort to reform its tightly controlled currency regime.

A revaluation of China's currency, a step called for by the Bush administration and many U.S. trade groups, appears to be imminent, analysts said this week. Speculation that a move may be coming soon, perhaps as early as this weekend, was heightened Friday when the Chinese yuan floated briefly above its official trading range. The Chinese currency is pegged to the dollar at 8.2765 yuan per $1 and rarely trades outside a narrow band.

The dollar extended its slide against the euro and other currencies Thursday, amid resurgent concerns that foreign central banks will seek to diversify their financial reserves away from dollar-denominated assets. The buck suffered a fresh blow after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told parliament that, "in general," diversity in foreign exchange reserves was a good thing.