Dollar mixed amid economic, auto jitters
Greenback churned Thursday as nervous investors found no resolution to fate of auto industry, digested grim economic reports.
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The dollar was mixed against major currencies Thursday amid economic jitters and as the fate of the US auto industry bailout remained in limbo.
The dollar lost ground against the 15-nation euro Thursday, which rose slightly to $1.2507 from $1.2489 late Wednesday. The greenback fell against the Japanese yen, to ¥94.52, below the 95.74¥ late Wednesday.
However, the U.S. currency gained against the British pound, which dipped to $1.4783 from $1.4951.
Democratic leaders said Thursday that Congress would return in December to consider extending a $25 billion lifeline for troubled U.S. automakers if the companies devise a "viable" recovery plan.
The news comes two days after often acrimonious hearings on Capitol Hill in which the CEOs of General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford (F, Fortune 500) and Chrysler said they needed an immediate $25 billion bridge loan to stay afloat through the end of the year.
"Certainly, right now, the current environment is fear [with] regards to the global outlook and growth, and the potential impact of one of the three U.S. auto makers filing for chapter 11," said Gareth Sylvester, senior currency strategist at HFIX in San Francisco.
"It is not a case of one of the auto markets going under and that is the end of it," said Sylvester. "It is the spillover into the broader economy which is also causing fear."
In addition, there were a slew of economic reports adding to investor anxiety.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance rose to a 16-year high, according to a government report released Thursday. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial filings for state jobless benefits increased by 27,000 to 542,000 for the week ended Nov. 15.
Another government report released Thursday showed a bleak reading on the economy's future health. The Conference Board said the index of leading economic indicators fell to to 99.6 in October, from 100.4 in September.
On Wednesday, the dollar fell against major currencies as the Dow Jones industrial average dipped below 8000 for the first time since March 2003.
In addition, a report released Wednesday showed that a key inflation reading fell 1% last month. The Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index was much weaker than September's flat reading and exceeded the 0.8% decline a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast.
Where economists had been worried about inflation as record energy prices supported consumer prices, they are now concerned about deflation. 
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