Forex - Dollar index hits fresh 6-month lows amid U.S. political woes
Investing.com
Published May 19, 2017 08:08AM ET
Dollar extends losses as U.S. political worries persist
Investing.com - The dollar dropped to fresh six-month lows against other major currencies on Friday, as U.S. political turmoil continued to weigh on the greenback and as no fresh U.S. data was expected throughout the day.
EUR/USD gained 0.68% to a fresh six-month peak of 1.1176.
The greenback briefly strengthened after the release on Thursday of upbeat data on U.S. initial jobless claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
But the dollar remained under broad selling pressure following reports this week that U.S. President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to end the agency's investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed on Wednesday by the Justice Department as a special counsel to take over the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD advanced 0.57% to 1.3014, just off the previous session’s eight-month high of 1.3051.
USD/JPY slipped 0.22% to 111.23, while USD/CHF declined 0.36% to 0.9765.
The Australian dollar remained stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.26% at 0.7437, while NZD/USD edged down 0.16% to 0.6889.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD fell 0.26% to trade at 1.3567.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.55% at a fresh six-month low of 97.38.
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Written By: Investing.com
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