The dollar has quietly slipped against the yen in this week’s currency trade while remaining mostly flat against other major counterparts including the Euro and British Pound. A less than stellar round of economic reports Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (June 30) morning have cast a dark cloud over optimism for economic recovery.

After starting the week close to 90 yen, the dollar fell to as low as 88.39 yen in late European trade before a modest rebound to its current 88.59 yen rate in early New York trade.

Wednesday’s weak report on private employer jobs added to the gloom so far this week. The report from payroll company ADP showed that private employers added only 13,000 jobs during the month of June, far short of the 60,000 that had been forecast. Of more interest is this Friday’s government jobs report which offers a broader picture of the employment environment.

In news that has been feared by those that questioned the decision to let the home buyer tax credit expire recently, the Mortgage Bankers Association painted a dreary picture with its data on home loans for June.

The group said that while record levels of refinancing driven by historically low sub-5 per cent rates helped mortgage applications reach 8-month highs, actual home buying is near a 13 year low.

Speculation is that in a rush to beat the clock and take advantage of nearly $8,000 in tax credits, many summer buyers bought early in the spring, borrowing from summer month real estate business.

Among the other more notable news events of the week was the June Consumer Confidence Index which came in at just 52.9 Tuesday’s Conference Board release. This marked a steep decline in confidence from May’s 62.7 index reading and it was the biggest decline since February.

Negative sentiment among consumers certainly does not bode well for an economy looking to make its way out of a recession. Consumer spending accounts for around 70 per cent of the US economy.

However, with unemployment remaining high and doubts still lingering about economic stability, consumers still appear hesitant to return to pre-recession spending routines.