Buffett and major traders still see a dip in dollar - Marketplace by Bloomberg - International Herald Tribune

Buffett and major traders still see a dip in dollar - Marketplace by Bloomberg - International Herald Tribune

Buffett reduced his bets on the dollar's decline to $16.5 billion from $21.5 billion in June, according to a statement from Berkshire Hathaway on Nov. 4. The company, which had $926 million of pretax currency losses in the first half, used forward contracts, or agreements to purchase or sell a currency in the future at a preset price.

. . . "The story of the current account deficit allowed traders and analysts to justify any currency prices," said Steve Pearson, chief currency strategist in London at HBOS, a large lender. "Sentiment got overly bearish on the dollar."

Pearson was the most accurate forecaster of exchange rates in the year that ended on Sept. 30.

For 2006, he expects the euro to fall to $1.08.