NEW YORK (AFX) - The dollar rose against most major currencies except the yen Tuesday after U.S. investors returned from the Labor Day holiday.
In afternoon New York trading the euro bought $1.2812, down from $1.2869 the night before. The British pound dropped to $1.8943 from $1.9060 on Monday.
The dollar lost ground against the Japanese currency, slipping to 115.93 yen from 115.97 the night before. The yen has been boosted by Monday's release of strong Japanese business spending data, which renewed some speculation the Bank of Japan might raise interest rates again before year-end.
Traders have been focusing largely on what will come next with euro-zone and U.S. interest rates.
Higher rates tend to bolster a currency by making certain types of investments more attractive.
The Federal Reserve paused its two year rate-raising campaign in August, while the European Central Bank last week appeared to indicate it would raise euro-zone rates at its next meeting after leaving them unchanged this month.
With little U.S. data due out this week, the markets are instead looking ahead to the Bank of Canada's policy meeting on Wednesday, the Bank of England's on Thursday and the Bank of Japan's on Friday.
In other trading, the dollar bought 1.2340 Swiss francs, up from 1.2282 late Monday, and 1.1109 Canadian dollars, up from 1.1064.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
