(RTTNews) - The dollar fell to its lowest in fifteen months versus a euro-weighted basket of currencies on Monday, hurt by increased risk appetite and renewed concerns about government spending.

Any speculation that the Federal Reserve would move to raise rates sooner than expected were dashed on Friday with the release of a troubling jobs report.

With US unemployment hitting a 26-year low of 10.2 percent, traders flocked to higher-yielding currencies, anticipated the interest rate gap between the US and other nations will widen.

Putting further pressure on the dollar were comments made over the weekend by US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who told fellow G-8 Finance Ministers meeting in Scotland that economic stimulus measures must be kept in place until the global economic recovery is secures.

The dollar slipped to $1.50 versus the euro, coming within half a cent of October's 14-month low of 1.5059. Since the global economy began to show signs of life in the early spring, the dollar has fallen about 25 cents from its yearly highs.

The dollar dropped to a 3-month low of 1.6842 versus the sterling, then improved by a cent to 1.6720.
Versus the loonie, the dollar dipped to a 2-week low C$1.0550, down about two Canadian cents from its overnight levels. With the loss, the dollar slipped toward its yearly low near C$1.0200.

The dollar saw little movement versus the yen, bouncing back and forth around the 90 mark.

In economic news from overseas, German industrial production continued its recovery in September as orders continued to grow, while exports rebounded after a fall in August despite a strong euro.

Industrial production rose a seasonally and calendar adjusted 2.7% month-on-month in September after a revised increase of 1.8% in August, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said Monday.

The dollar is likely to be a victim of momentum trading this week, with fewer chances for first-tier economic data to impact the perception of the dollar.

The weekly jobless claims report and the preliminary report of the Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey are the only major data points on tap this Veteran's holiday-shortened week.

by RTT Staff Writer

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