US SETBACKS SEE DOLLAR PLUNGE TO NEAR 15-YEAR LOW
US setbacks see dollar plunge to near 15-year low By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Last Updated: 12:41pm GMT 29/11/2006 # US woes hit Wolseley # Your view: Will the dollar hit $2 against sterling? The dollar tumbled to a near 15-year low against sterling yesterday on fresh signs of economic trouble in the United States. An 8.3pc crash in US industrial orders and an admission by the Federal Reserve chairman that Washington does not know how bad housing really is set off another day of wild gyrations on the currency markets. Ben Bernanke The Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Washington did not know how bad a state the American housing market was in US house prices fell 3.5pc to an average $221,000, the third month of declines. Stocks of unsold homes rose to 7.4 months' supply, the highest since 1993. The US consumer confidence index fell sharply to 102.9. The "truckers index" of tonnage shipped by US haulage companies was down 1.8pc in October, a leading indicator of c