Investing.com – The dollar languished at more than 14-month lows against a basket of global currencies on Monday, as market participants continued to bet against the greenback, after a mixed pair of economic reports weighed on sentiment.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.35% to 92.87.
Timid economic activity continued to add to dollar woes, as investors mulled over economic data showing a dip in manufacturing activity while pending home sales data topped expectations.
The Chicago business barometer, a closely-watched indicator by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) slipped to 58.9 in July from a three-year high of 65.7 in June, MNI indicators showed on Monday.
Any reading over 50 indicates improving conditions.
In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday, pending home sales, or signed contracts to buy previously owned homes, rose 1.5% in June from the previous month.
The reports come amid growing investor expectation the greenback would continue to lose ground against its rivals, in the wake of data last week showing speculators increased their short bets against the U.S. dollar.
The value of net short bets against the dollar rose to $3.92 billion in the week ending July 25, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.
The pound and euro were the main beneficiaries of selling pressure in the greenback, as both currencies traded close to session highs.
EUR/USD traded at $1.1810, up 0.51%, while EUR/GBP rose 0.15% to 0.8959, after Eurozone inflation data for July met expectations. The single currency has gained more than 3% against the greenback during the month.
GBP/USD rose to $1.3183, up 0.36%, as investors continued to monitor Brexit proceedings, after UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s official spokesman made clear that freedom of movement will end in March 2019.
USD/CAD rose to $1.2500, up 0.54%, after a slump in crude prices weighed on the oil-sensitive loonie.
USD/JPY fell to Y110.43, down 0.23%.