Dollar edges lower vs. rivals as U.S. data still weighs

Forex

The dollar edged lower against the other major currencies on Monday, as Friday’s disappointing U.S. economic reports continued to weigh on demand for the greenback.

EUR/USD eased up 0.08% to 1.1170.

The greenback weakened broadly after the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday that retail sales were flat in July, compared expectations for a 0.4% rise. Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by 0.3% in July.

A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices fell by 0.4% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% rise. Year-over-year, producer prices decreased by 0.2%.

In addition, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 90.4, from July’s reading of 90.0. Analysts had forecast a larger increase to 91.5.

The downbeat data fueled concerns over the strength of the U.S. economy and dampened expectations for a 2016 rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

GBP/USD held steady at 1.2912, close to Friday’s one-month low of 1.2934.

USD/JPY slid 0.34% to 100.93, while USD/CHF was little changed at 0.9743.

Earlier Monday, preliminary data showed that Japan’s gross domestic product was flat in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.7% rise and after an upwardly revised growth rate of 2.0% in the three months to March.

Year-on-year, Japan’s economy grew 0.2% in the last quarter, compared to expectations for 0.7%.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.31% at 0.7670 and with NZD/USD adding 0.12% to 0.7211.

Elsewhere, USD/CAD slipped 0.10% to 1.2939, re-approaching Friday’s one-month trough of 1.2920.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.09% at 95.59, not far from Friday’s one-and-a-half week low of 95.19.

Source by Investing.com