The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies in late New York trading on July 25 as a European Central Bank (ECB) official said the rescue fund may be granted banking license and acquire loans from the ECB.
Ewald Nowotny, a member of the ECB's rate-setting Governing Council and head of Austria's central bank, said Wednesday that the ECB might allow the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to apply for a banking license, which would increase ESM's lending capacity, Xinhua reported.
The news helped ease investors' concerns about the shortage of liquidity in some European countries. The euro rebounded Wednesday from a nearly 2-year low against the dollar.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales dropped 8.4 percent in June, raising concerns that the housing market might fare worse.
The dollar slid on July 25 as the euro rebounded and risk- aversion appetite eased. The dollar index on July 25 fell from a 2-year high of above 84 to 83.641.
July 25 trading, the dollar bought 78.12 Japanese yen, compared with 78.18 from late Tuesday. The euro rose to 1.2160 dollars from 1.2061.
The British pound also rose to 1.5511 dollars from 1.5504. The dollar fell from 0.9957 Swiss francs to 0.9878, and was down to 1. 0145 Canadian dollars from 1.0220.
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