American focus : dollar weakened on Yellen’s speech

The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies after the deputy chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Janet Yellen signaled that no major changes in the central bank will not if she will be his next head .

Yellen pointed out that the Fed will consider folding its program of bond purchases at 85 billion dollars a month for the next meetings on monetary policy, although she did not say if it supports these early steps .

"We take note on the costs and effectiveness of the program as it is implemented . At this stage, I think that the benefits exceed the costs , "- said Yellen in early hearings in the Senate Banking Committee , dedicated to her nomination to the post of chairman of the Fed.

The Fed announced that complete the program of bond purchases if the costs and risks become too great. Yellen signaled that , in its opinion , such a moment has not come yet .

She said that there are risks associated with too early or too late completion of the program , as well as the loose monetary policy of the Fed in general.

Impact on the dollar also provided data that was presented by the Ministry of Labour, which showed that the number of people who applied for the first time unemployment benefits fell again last week , registering with the fifth week in a row reduction , that is another sign of strengthening market labor. According to the report , the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 - to a level of 339,000 in the week ended November 9. Economists forecast that the value of this indicator reduced to the level of 331 thousand also add that the figure for the previous week was revised up from 336 thousand to 341 thousand

Earlier, the euro fell against the dollar, which was associated with the release of a weak report on the euro area. According to data from Eurostat , in the third quarter eurozone economy barely expanded , creating new concerns about the fact that the region faces a combination of stagnation , low prices and high unemployment that threatens to constrain development in the foreseeable future . According to the report , the euro zone 's gross domestic product in the third quarter increased by only 0.1 % compared with the previous quarter . Recall that the eurozone economy declined six consecutive quarters since the end of 2011 , but was able to stop this series in the second quarter of this year. Note that, according to the average forecast of experts economy in the third quarter was to expand by 0.2%.

Meanwhile, adding that economic activity slowed down in Germany and decreased in France during the third quarter. This suggests that began in the summer of eurozone recovery stalled. According to the German GDP rose in the 3rd quarter by 0.3 % compared with the 2nd quarter. French GDP , contrary to expectations, in the 3rd quarter decreased by 0.1 % after rising 0.5% in the 2nd quarter.

In addition, it was reported that in the 3rd quarter of 2013, Italy's GDP contracted by 0.1 % compared to the previous quarter due to growth in the manufacturing sector , while Spain's GDP grew by 0.1 percent.

Pound previously came under pressure after data on retail sales, which showed that at the end of last month in the UK retail sales unexpectedly fell , which was associated with a reduction in demand for electrical goods and clothing. Note that this result indicates the fragility of consumer demand , which was a factor in economic growth since the spring . According to the report , retail sales fell 0.7 % in October , compared with a rise of 0.6 % in September. Add that on an annualized basis , sales increased 1.8% after rising 2.2 % the previous month . Note that many economists had expected growth of 0.2 % on a monthly basis , and an increase of 3.3 % per annum.

The October result recorded deceleration after a 1.3 percent increase in sales in the third quarter, which was revised up from 1.5 %. This revision does not significantly affect the rate of economic growth, which was 0.8 % for the quarter - the fastest pace of expansion in three years. Recall that retail is just over 5 % of the economy.