Dollar Retreats
Jul 23rd, 2009 | By Doug Casey | Category: US Dollar & Forex TradingIn the currency market, the dollar fell against the euro. Late Wednesday, the euro was trading at $1.4214 vs. $1.4199 on Tuesday.
On the economic front, U.S. home prices rose 0.9% on a seasonally-adjusted basis from April to May, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.1% decline in April was revised to a 0.3% decline. For the 12 months ending in May, U.S. prices fell 5.6%. The U.S. index is 10.7% below its April 2007 peak.
“Revisions and volatility of the monthly index make it hard to draw any conclusions, but the seasonally-adjusted HPI for the first five months of this year is up 0.3% or 0.7% on an annualized basis,” said FHFA Director James Lockhart.
The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from April to May ranged from -2.0% in the New England Division to +2.7% in the Pacific Division.
Meanwhile, mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8% last week from the prior week, overcoming higher interest rates charged on fixed-rate home loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey released yesterday.
The latest results, for the week ended July 17, mark the third straight week of greater activity in mortgage applications.
Last week’s applications were up an unadjusted 6.6% from the same week last year. The Washington-based MBA’s survey covers about half of all applications filed for retail residential mortgages.
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Doug Casey is a contrarian investor, sought-after public speaker and author of several books. His work "Crisis Investing" held the position of # 1 bestseller on the New York Times list for 26 consecutive weeks. Doug's unusual views on the economy - and just about everything else - have gained a huge following in the investment community, and it certainly helps that his stock recommendations of undervalued junior exploration companies have made his subscribers millions. Now in its 27th year, Doug's monthly newsletter, the International Speculator, is one of the most established and esteemed publications on gold, silver and other natural resource investments. Together with the Casey Energy Speculator, it covers a broad range of carefully selected stocks with the very real potential of double- and triple-digit returns within 12 to 24 months.