Dollar Falls as Bernanke Says Stimulus Needed Before Claims Data

Bloomberg (11/7) -- The dollar declined versus most of its major peers after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said inflation and unemployment rates show the U.S. economy still requires very stimulative monetary stimulus. The greenback fell to a three-week low against the euro before a report today that may show continuing jobless claims rose. That underscores views expressed in minutes of the Fed’s last meeting released yesterday, which showed many policy makers want to see more signs that employment is picking up before they’ll begin slowing bond purchases. The yen weakened against the euro ahead of a policy decision today by the Bank of Japan. The dollar slid 1.3 percent to $1.3141 per euro at 8:40 a.m. Tokyo time after earlier touching $1.3207, the weakest since June 21. It reached 98.27 yen, the least since June 27, before trading at 98.94 yen, down 0.8 percent from yesterday. Japan’s currency lost 0.5 percent to 129.96 per euro.