Dollar Advances on September Taper Seen Intact

Bloomberg (26/8) -- The dollar gained against the majority of its 16 most-traded peers as a worse-than-forecast U.S. report on durable goods failed to damp speculation the Federal Reserve will start cutting bond purchases next month. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index pared an advance after after Secretary of State John Kerry said the president will hold Syria’s government accountable for the “moral obscenity” of using chemical weapons. The Turkish lira dropped to the weakest level on record as the central bank provided funds to banks at its benchmark rate for the first time in six days. The Mexican peso slumped the most among the major currencies on concern Fed tapering will speed the flow of cash out of emerging economies. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.1 percent to 1,027.53 at 5 p.m. in New York. It advanced to 1,031.37 on Aug. 22, the highest since Aug. 2. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 98.51 yen after tumbling as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The U.S. currency advanced 0.1 percent to $1.3368 per euro after depreciating 0.4 percent last week. The euro fell 0.3 percent to 131.69 yen. Financial markets were closed in London due to a public holiday.