The US dollar rose against the euro yesterday and was boosted to a five month high, as crude oil prices fell and investors steered away from the euro as concerns over the state of the economy continue.

With the economic slowdown affecting the European, Asian and Australian economies and all three central banks keeping interest rates the same, demand for the dollar has been higher, causing the euro to suffer its largest weekly fall since 1999.

The US dollar fell against the euro today, as the euro gained ground from its month low earlier this week. It is thought that investors still have concerns over the US economy and have shifted to the euro as they await European economic data released later today.

Many analysts are expecting that the European sentiment index will show a down turn in the economic growth and give the European Central Bank (ECB) little scope to lower interest rates despite high inflation rates.

The dollar continued to progress against the yen in Monday afternoon’s trading in Tokyo; this was mainly due to Japanese importers buying the greenback following its earlier decline.

Japanese investors purchase the dollar when the currency falls, as they try to finance purchases of basic raw materials and oil at lower prices.

The dollars short-term outlook remains unclear after the latest US jobs data revealed a sharp increase in unemployment in May.

The U.S. dollar traded a little higher against the major currencies in Monday trading in Tokyo, held up by positive demand from investors seeking higher yielding assets.

Overall trading was cautious with investors waiting for a flurry of U.S. economic data due out later this week, as well as announcements from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank. The financial market will be looking for any inklings on where interest rates are headed when the Federal Reserve and the European Bank make their speeches on Tuesday.

The US Dollar was steadied a little against the yen and the euro in today’s Asian trade as investors waited for the release of US housing data, a key indicator on the state of the US economy.

The National Association of Realtors will release the figures for existing home sales throughout April this afternoon, and many analysts are expecting it will show that the housing sector remains in a slump.

Oil prices have risen above $129 a barrel as Opec says that it would not be boosting oil output over the next few months. This raised concerns about supply, and the speculation that China would need to import more oil after its earthquake has also driven prices.

Analysts are warning that oil prices could reach up to $150 a barrel before the end of the year, and with the US Dollar weakening investors are looking at buying commodities instead of the Dollar.

It seem the US Dollar is holding up not only in Europe but also against the Yen. This is pleasing news after the recent results from retail sales figures in the last few weeks.

There is still much anticipation on how the market will be in the next few months especially with the prospect of interest rate cuts by the end of this month or perhaps even earlier.

The financial markets have been up and down which is to be expected with Thanksgiving tradition. Currency markets went all out on Friday and the EURUSD saw a rise of over 100 points in a time period of less than two hours.

The rise came close to the key range of 1.50 but then quickly dropped again to 1.4800.