Dollar falls to eight-month low against euro

MarketWatch (04/10) NEW YORK — The dollar hit an eight-month low against the euro on Thursday as investors grew more concerned about the economic effects of a prolonged shutdown and debt-ceiling debate. A failure to raise the debt limit by Oct. 17 could lead to a financial crisis worse than the one in 2008, the Treasury Department said Thursday. Separately, the Labor Department said the jobs report won’t be released Friday because of a lapse of funding. That makes it even more likely that the Federal Reserve will hold monetary policy steady at its October meeting, since the central bank closely watches labor-market data in making its decision. The Fed’s current bond purchases of $85 billion a month are understood to weigh on the U.S. dollar. The ICE dollar index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against six other currencies, edged down to 79.737 from 79.875 late Wednesday, on track to decline for the fifth straight session. The WSJ Dollar Index, a gauge of dollar strength against a broader basket of rivals, declined to 72.23 from 72.32. Growth slowed in the U.S. services sector in September, with the Institute for Supply Management’s services index falling to a reading of 54.4% from 58.6% in August. Also on Thursday, U.S. weekly jobless claims inched up by 1,000 to 308,000 in the week ended Sept. 28. Economists had expected an increase to a seasonally adjusted 313,000, according to a MarketWatch survey. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-falls-against-euro-on-us-budget-stalemate-2013-10-03