Photo:3181,left,;The U.S. dollar climbed higher against a basket of currencies Friday including the euro, pound sterling and Canadian dollar, as U.S. traders continue to take advantage of an extended Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The pound fell against the U.S. dollar after a report showing that Britain's economy grew by only 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2007 versus a projection of 0.8 per cent. As a result, investors sold the pound on renewed speculation that the Bank of England will move to cut interest rates in an attempt to stimulate the British economy. England was hit hard by the August credit crunch relating to the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market and it would appear that further damage to the economy is in store as a result.

Nonetheless, while the pound fared worse against the U.S. dollar, it still managed to trade higher against the Canadian dollar. At 10 a.m. on Friday the pound was trading up against the Canadian dollar at 2.0292.

The strength in the U.S. dollar comes despite some grim news from Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, who announced today that the housing slump is far from over in the United States. Mr. Greenspan predicts that housing prices will continue to drop.

Today is Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year for U.S. retailers. Early reports from many retailers are suggesting less-than-stellar sales so far. Many are now expecting the U.S. economy to slide into recession in the early new year.

By 10:30 a.m. on Friday morning the U.S. dollar continued to trade up against the Canadian dollar at 0.9885.

Market report prepared by Bruce Hauser

Accu-Rate Corporation

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