NEWS / Foreign Exchange

Oil restarts rally on dollar lows

Oil rebounded as much as USD 1 on Friday, restarting a drive toward the USD 100 watershed after two days of losses as the dollar touched new lows and supply disruptions raised the risk of a winter supply crunch.
U.S. crude for December delivery rose as much as USD 1.02 to USD 96.48 a barrel in electronic trading by 0208 GMT, reversing the previous day's 91-cent drop.

National Australia Bank profit up 20 %

National Australia Bank Ltd NAB.AX (NAB), the nation's top lender by assets, met forecasts with a 20 % rise in second-half profit, driven by strong loan growth, and said it targeted revenue growth above the industry average in its key consumer banking.
NAB's cost discipline and strong UK performance impressed investors and helped stoke a 3 % rally in NAB shares.

USD hit record low

The dollar hit a record low against the euro on Friday as fears grew that more U.S. financial firms will be hit by credit market turmoil and reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further.
The U.S. currency dropped to a 26-year low against sterling and a 12-year trough against the Swiss franc as a report, which said a unit of State Street Corp. may be getting rid of asset-backed securities, reinforced worries that more asset write-downs at U.S. banks may surface.
EURUSD traded between 1.4674 and 1.4739