NEW YORK: The dollar slid on Thursday against major currencies in choppy trading as a slew of data continued to show that the US economy was slowing down in the wake of multiple hefty rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, with the market anticipating a pause in tightening this year.
The yen, on the other hand, rallied against the dollar as traders continued to bet the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will eventually shift away from ultra-loose monetary policy.
Thursday’s data showed that overall US housing starts declined 1.4% to a rate of 1.382 million units last month. Building permits dropped as well, down 1.6% o a rate of 1.330 million units.
Manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region softened again in January.
The Philadelphia Fed’s monthly manufacturing index rose to negative 8.9 this month from negative 13.7 in December, a larger improvement than economists in a Reuters poll had expected. The median estimate was for negative 11.
Conditions overall were labeled as the least negative in three months in a survey of goods producers that also showed inflation pressures - measured by the prices paid index - dropping to 24.5 in January from 36.3 last month. That was the lowest in nearly two-and-a-half years.
However, initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 15,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 190,000 for the week ended Jan. 14. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 214,000 claims for the latest week.
Edward Moya, senior market analyst, at OANDA in New York said the economy is clearly weakening.
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