US Dollar (USD):

Anxieties over a possible war with Iraq remained at the forefront, which helped push oil to a new 2-year high above $32 per barrel. The protracted strike in Venezuela is also inducing the jump in oil price. The greenback was buoyed by upbeat economic data. US economic reports last week included personal consumption, which posted its largest increase since July at 0.5% for November compared with 0.4% gain in October. Personal income, edged higher too by 0.3% and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for December rose to 86.7 vs. November reading of 84.2, posting the second monthly rise. This marked the largest increase in four months and indicates consumers continue to open their wallets even amid mounting geopolitical fears and economic uncertainties. The price index of personal consumption, regarded by the Fed as a more accurate measure of inflation than the consumer price index, advanced 1.8% on a y-to-y basis. Excluding food and energy, the PCE edged up 1.5%, pointing to a benign inflationary environment. US durable goods orders fell unexpectedly by 1.4% in November following a revised 1.7% rise in October, adding to evidence that the recovery is seeing a deceleration in the fourth quarter. Durable goods orders were weaker across categories with the exception of the defense sector. Excluding the strength in the defense component, the overall figure declined 2.3%. US jobless claims fell by 60,000 to 378,000, beating expectations of a more modest drop to 405,000. US new home sales jumped to 1.063 million units in November versus 1.007 million units the previous month.

Dow had a bad Christmas week shedding 208 points to close at 8303. Nasdaq shed 16 points to close at 1348.

Euro (EUR) – (O-1.0256, H-1.0444, L-1.0216, C-1.0438):

UK Pound (GBP) – (O-1.6026, H-1.6064, L-1.5868, C-1.6039):

Japan Yen (JPY) – (O-120.35, H-120.80, L-119.78, C-119.83) :

Economic data showed that prices in Japan fell for a 38th consecutive month. Nationwide core CPI came in at - 0.8% for November annually, slightly better than the forecast of -0.9%. Industrial output in November fell more than expected, down 2.2% from a month earlier, while inventories were down 2.5%. Unemployment edged down to 5.3%, from October's record level of 5.5%. Meanwhile, consumption shows no signs of picking up as household spending in November was down 3.4% annually, and the propensity-to-consume index fell to 71.9% from 72.7% a month earlier.