Monday morning in Asia, the dollar surged to 1-week highs against the currencies of Europe, UK and Switzerland as the US congressional leaders and President George W. Bush agreed on a $700 billion package to revive credit markets by purchasing distressed debt from banks. The dollar also strengthened to a 4-day high against the yen.
Democratic leaders of the U.S. Congress announced Sunday evening that an agreement had been reached on a rescue plan for the troubled U.S. financial system. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the $700 billion bi-partisan plan includes provisions that would require the financial institutions benefiting from the plan to repay any shortfall that occurs, and also places limits on CEO compensation.
The message to Wall Street, Pelosi said, was "The party is over. No longer will the U.S. taxpayer bailout the recklessness of Wall Street." A vote in the House of Representative is expected today, with Senate action expected to follow by mid-week.
The dollar advanced against the euro during early Asian deals on Monday and reached 1.4485 at 8:45 pm ET. This set the highest point for the dollar since September 22. If the dollar moves further higher, it is likely to target the 1.41 level. The euro-dollar pair was worth 1.4619 at the close of New York session on Friday.
In early Asian trading on Monday, the dollar jumped to a 1-week high of 1.8263 against the pound. This may be compared to last week's closing value of 1.8428. The next upside target level for the dollar is seen at 1.78.
The pound declined today on disappointing economic report released from UK. The average home price in Great Britain fell 6.2 percent on year in September, property consultants Hometrack said today. That was approximately in line with analyst expectations, and it marked a sharper decline than the 5.3 percent annual contraction in August. Overall, it marked the 12th consecutive month of decline. On a monthly basis, prices were down 1.0 percent - greater than the 0.9 percent decline in the previous month.
The dollar, which closed Friday's trading at 1.0906 against the franc climbed to a 1-week high of 1.0988 in early Asian deals on Monday. On the upside, 1.128 is seen as the next target level for the dollar-franc pair.
During early Asian deals on Monday, the dollar rose to a 4-day high of106.98 against the Japanese yen. If the dollar gains further, it may test resistance around the 109.1 level. The dollar-yen pair closed last week's trading at 106.17.
Retail sales in Japan were up 0.7 percent on year in August, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said today. That was higher than the 0.2 percent increase that had been forecast, but it was down from the revised 2.0 percent annual increase in July. On a monthly basis, retail sales were also up 0.7 percent versus expectations of a 0.2 percent decline. Sales were up a revised monthly 0.1 percent in July.
In the European session today, the UK M4 money supply, Euro-zone business climate indicator, consumer and industrial confidence reports are expected.
Across the Atlantic, the US August PCE deflator, personal income and spending reports have been slated for release.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.