Dollar at 7-week lows vs. euro, Fed minutes in focus
Investing.com
Published Feb 19, 2014 04:18AM ET
Weaker dollar at seven-week lows against euro
Investing.com - The dollar was trading at seven-week lows against the euro on Wednesday after soft U.S. economic data added to worries that the recovery is losing momentum.
EUR/USD hit 1.3772, the highest since January 2 and was last up 0.01% to 1.3761.
The dollar weakened after data on Tuesday showed that the Empire State manufacturing index fell more-than-expected in February as new orders dropped.
A separate report showed foreign investors sold almost $120 billion of U.S. assets in December.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting later in the trading day, when the bank voted to cut its stimulus program by another $10 billion to $65 billion per month.
Earlier this month Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the central bank is on track to maintain the pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
The dollar was also lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.18% to 102.17. The pair rose to two-week highs of 102.73 on Monday after the Bank of Japan extended a bank lending scheme in an attempt to boost the effectiveness of its monetary stimulus program.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD was up 0.22% to 1.6720 ahead of a U.K. employment report due later in the session.
The dollar edged higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching up 0.06% to 0.8885.
The Australian dollar slipped lower, with AUD/USD dipping 0.07% to 0.9020, while NZD/USD was up 0.16% to 0.8320.
The Australian dollar remain supported after the Conference Board reported that its leading index for Australia rose 0.8% in December, after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
A separate report showed that Australia's wage price index rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter, slightly above expectations for a 0.6% rise, after a 0.5% increase in the three months to September.
The U.S. dollar was lower against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD down 0.17% to 1.0928.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.07% to 80.00.
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Written By: Investing.com
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