The dollar edged higher against the euro on Thursday after the head of the European Central Bank warned of risks to the eurozone's fragile economic recovery and mixed US economic data. The single European currency slipped to 1.4501 dollars, down from 1.4509 dollars late Wednesday in New York.
The dollar meanwhile fetched 91.23 yen compared with 91.38 Wednesday. The market looked past a disappointing US retail sales report and another rise in weekly jobless claims to push the dollar higher in narrow, range-bound trade.
"We had a little bit of back-and-forth - it looks like the dollar is holding in its range, relatively narrow," said Vassili Serebriakov at Wells Fargo. "The dollar started softer after disappointing (US) retail sales, but I think the European Central Bank meeting was overall negative for the euro," he said.
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, speaking after the central bank policymakers held the benchmark eurozone interest rate at a record low 1.0 percent, as expected, said the eurozone economy should grow "at a moderate pace in 2010".
But he warned that recovery would likely be uneven and was "subject to uncertainty". On Greece, whose massive debt and public deficit burdens have unnerved eurozone partners, Trichet adopted a severe tone.
While it was "absurd" to suggest that Greece might be forced to leave the 16-member bloc he insisted that Greece - along with other debt-burdened eurozone members - had to take steps to get its public finances in order. Greece's debt debacle thrust it to the top of the bank's list of problems, but Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain have troubles of their own and analysts say market fears could fuel a full-blown crisis if officials do not act credibly and soon.
Trichet said there would be no exception for Greek government bonds within the bank's collateral requirements, which are to revert to pre-crisis criteria at the end of this year. That would mean that Greek bonds would not be accepted as collateral by the bank at current ratings.
Meanwhile, investors digested a weak reading for the critical year-end US holiday shopping season. US retail sales fell unexpectedly by 0.3 percent in December, but numbers were revised higher for the prior two months, Commerce Department data showed. In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.0182 Swiss francs, up from 1.0180 late Wednesday. The pound firmed to 1.6332 dollars from 1.6281.