* Dollar falls as Bernanke's reappointment lifts stocks
* Case-Shiller report shows improving U.S. housing sector
* U.S. consumer confidence rises in August
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The dollar weakened on
Tuesday as generally upbeat U.S. economic data and Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reappointment encouraged
investors to take on riskier trades.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday renominated Bernanke to
a second term as Fed chairman as the U.S. economy attempts to
come out of the worst recession since the Great Depression.
<For related news click [
In addition, reports showing a rise in U.S. consumer
confidence and an increase in prices of U.S. single-family
homes for a second consecutive month in June also improved
risk sentiment. For the housing report, see [ID:nNYS005335].
For consumer confidence, click on [].
"These numbers are definitely reassuring, though I'm more
focused on the housing data. Still, the consumer confidence is
like gravy today," said Melvin Harris, market strategist at
Advanced Currency Markets in New York.
"We're not in a full-blown recovery mode yet, but we are
seeing more normalized markets. Consumer numbers are important
-- they are an indicator of what people are willing to spend
and that matters for GDP growth."
The yen also drifted up against the dollar, but it came
off its highs for the day amid a run of positive U.S. data.
The Japanese currency and the dollar tend to fall when risk
appetite improves.
Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Global
Banking and Markets, said Tuesday's data is moving in the
right direction, although there is nothing in the reports to
suggest that the recovery for the U.S. consumer "would be
anything but tepid."
But he added that these reports, along with higher
equities and an increasingly positive international
environment "will keep the positive risk trade on track."
Meanwhile, the Bernanke story has been out for many hours,
with the earlier news citing a senior Administration official.
Currency markets, however, were slow to react as investors
mainly took their cue from stocks.
Analysts said the delayed reaction was quite normal in
thin summer trading conditions as financial markets struggled
for direction.
"Clearly, Obama's decision (to reappoint Bernanke) has
been motivated by a realization that ... global financial
markets desperately need a sense of stability at a time when
the banking system still remains vulnerable to further
write-downs and credit contractions," said Boris Schlossberg,
director of FX research at GFT in New York.
In midday New York trading, the euro <EUR=> rose 0.2
percent for the day to $1.4326, clawing back some losses after
slipping to the day's low of $1.4254 according to Reuters
data. It rose as high as $1.4361.
The euro showed little reaction to figures confirming
Germany's economy grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter and
exited a recession. []
The ICE Futures' dollar index <.DXY>, a measure of the
dollar's value against six major currencies, inched down 0.2
percent to 78.117.
The greenback traded at 94.27 yen <JPY=>, down 0.2 percent
lower late on Monday.
Sterling, however, slipped versus the dollar, down 0.3
percent at $1.6365 <GBP>.
(Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson; Editing by Jan
Paschal)
