(MENAFN– ecpulse)
The U.S. dollar slipped against major currencies after a report showing U.S. jobless claims rose more than forecasts last week.
First-time applicants for jobless benefits rose to 311,000 in the week through August 9, from 290,000 a week before, compared with analysts’ forecasts of 295,000.
A report released on Wednesday showed that U.S. advanced retails sales stalled in July, compared with both prior and predicted readings of 0.2 percent increase.
The data lowered forecasts the Fed may raise interest rates earlier than anticipated amid the current progress in economic data.
The dollar index, which tracks the green currency’s movements versus a basket of six major currencies, fell to 81.53 after visiting a low of 81.50.
The EURUSD soared to trade around 1.3386, yet remains near 9-month low, following a report released today showing Europe’s biggest economy dropped for the first time since 2012 in the second quarter.
Germany posted its first contraction since 2012 after it dropped 0.2 percent from a downwardly revised of 0.7 percent in the first quarter.
In the euro area, the growth staled in the second quarter as large economies failed to expand.
The USDJPY retreated to trade around 102.37, where the session’s high was hit at 102.64.
The GBPUSD is meanwhile trading around 1.6681 after setting a low of 1.6655.
Yesterday, the pound fell sharply after the BOE lowered its wage growth forecast to 1.25 percent this year, compared with previous forecasts of 2.5 percent.
The BOE also slashed its growth estimates to 3.25 percent from 3.5 percent predicted previously.
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