The US dollar fell across the board on Wednesday after dismal US retail sales data painted a gloomy picture of the economy and supported the case for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six major currencies, was down 0.1% at 98.188.
US retail sales fell for the first time in seven months in September, suggesting that manufacturing-led weakness could be spreading to the broader economy.
"The US economy is indeed revealing further weaknesses, justifying another rate cut by the Fed," Marc-André Fongern, a strategist at MAF Global Forex in Frankfurt, said.
With two weeks to go until their next policy meeting, US central bankers remain divided about the need to cut borrowing costs for a third time this year.
"If the consumer shows stronger signs of weakness, we could easily see the Fed commit to an easing cycle," Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA in New York, said in a note.
The dollar's losses were most pronounced against other safe-haven currencies such as the yen and the Swiss franc.
Against the yen, the greenback fell 0.1%, while it slipped 0.18% against the Swiss franc.
Elsewhere, the Norwegian crown weakened to its lowest since July 2001 at 9.119 per dollar. Norway, a major exporter of oil, is particularly sensitive to economic tensions.
Trade-oriented currencies such as the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar also weakened. The kiwi was down 0.64%. The pound was last up 0.27% against the greenback.
Comments
Comments are closed.