New York -- The dollar fell against major currencies on Tuesday as Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. home financing, reported weaker-than-expected results and oil prices hit new record.
Fannie Mae reported losses of 2.2 billion dollars in the first quarter, or 2.57 dollars a share. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected the company to lose 81 cents a share in the latest period.
The results hinted that troubles for the housing market, a major drag on the U.S. economy, are not over.
Fannie's president and CEO Daniel Mudd said home prices in the January-March period fell "faster than anyone anticipated," and the company now foresees a nationwide drop of 7 percent to 9 percent in 2008.
Oil futures blasted to a new record near 123 dollars a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages.
Surging oil is compounding worldwide inflation concerns, leaving it more likely the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will hold interest rates steady later this week.
The euro bought 1.5533 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.5497 dollars it bought late Monday. The British pound rose to 1.9730 dollars from 1.9720 dollars.
The dollar fell to 1.0504 Swiss francs from 1.0530 Swiss francs, and fell to 104.71 Japanese yen from 105.26 Japanese yen. It fell to 1.0024 Canadian dollars from 1.0135 Canadian dollars.
Fannie Mae reported losses of 2.2 billion dollars in the first quarter, or 2.57 dollars a share. Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected the company to lose 81 cents a share in the latest period.
The results hinted that troubles for the housing market, a major drag on the U.S. economy, are not over.
Fannie's president and CEO Daniel Mudd said home prices in the January-March period fell "faster than anyone anticipated," and the company now foresees a nationwide drop of 7 percent to 9 percent in 2008.
Oil futures blasted to a new record near 123 dollars a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages.
Surging oil is compounding worldwide inflation concerns, leaving it more likely the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will hold interest rates steady later this week.
The euro bought 1.5533 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.5497 dollars it bought late Monday. The British pound rose to 1.9730 dollars from 1.9720 dollars.
The dollar fell to 1.0504 Swiss francs from 1.0530 Swiss francs, and fell to 104.71 Japanese yen from 105.26 Japanese yen. It fell to 1.0024 Canadian dollars from 1.0135 Canadian dollars.
