Dollar rises against euro as US retail figures improve

Dollar rises against euro as US retail figures improve
June 12, 2008 - 1:06 p.m.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The euro lost ground against the dollar Thursday after the U.S. Commerce Department reported a jump in retail sales, helped by an economic stimulus package.

The euro bought $1.5407 in afternoon European trading, down from its level of $1.5571 in New York late Wednesday.

The dollar rose to 108.02 Japanese yen from 106.93, while the British pound fell to $1.9455 from $1.9631.

The Commerce Department reported that retail sales jumped by 1 percent last month, the biggest increase since November.

The May increase was double what economists had been expecting and indicated that the economy is getting a boost from the $50 million in economic stimulus payments the government sent to Americans in May.

The U.S. administration is hoping the stimulus payments will help avert a deep recession. Still, other data Thursday were gloomier.

The Labor Department reported that new applications for jobless benefits rose by 25,000 last week to 384,000, the highest level since late March. It was a much bigger increase than analysts had been expecting.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which provides readings on the U.S. economy by region, indicated that Americans are feeling the pinch of rising energy and food costs and said the economy remains "generally weak

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