Dollar Rises as Trade Report Deters Demand for Higher Yields

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar rose against most of its major counterparts after a report on U.S. trade indicated the global economic recovery may be slowing, reducing demand for higher-yielding assets.

“If you look behind the trade numbers, exports and imports both fell,” said Kathy Lien, director of currency research, with online currency trader GFT Forex, in New York. “The contraction in imports and exports does not play into the growth story. That’s why risk currencies are selling off and the dollar is rising.”

The dollar appreciated 0.1 percent versus the euro to $1.3640 at 9:02 a.m. in New York

The U.S. trade deficit decreased 6.6 percent in January to $37.3 billion from a revised $39.9 billion in December as Americans imported the fewest barrels of crude oil in a decade, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Exports decreased 0.3 percent, the first decline since April, on fewer shipments of commercial aircraft and autos.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Levisohn in New York at blevisohn@bloomberg.net