The euro briefly fell to its lowest level since late November against the US dollar yesterday, as the dollar strengthened against most major currencies following President Obama’s announcement of a $75 billion mortgage relief plan, which would provide incentives to mortgage lenders to help borrowers reduce their payments.
The Federal Reserve said it expects unemployment to rise to between 8.5 percent and 8.8 percent this year, up from the 7.6 percent it forecast last year. The Fed also sees the economy shrinking by between 0.5 percent and 1.3 percent, instead of its prior outlook for 0.2 percent contraction to 1.1 percent growth. This latest outlook update, if true for 2009, would mark the weakest year of economic activity since 1982.
There are no significant announcements due from the eurozone today, while in the US Leading Indicators, Producer Price Index, Philadelphia Fed and Jobless Claims data are released this afternoon.
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