US dollar retreats amid soft economic data

The US dollar declined as market participants digested a slew of downbeat data.

In late New York trading on Friday, the euro fell to $1.1295 from $1.1299 in the previous session, and the British pound was up to $1.2886 from $1.2801 in the previous session, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar was up to $0.7139 from $0.7105.

The US dollar bought 110.44 Japanese yen, lower than 110.47 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar increased to 1.0049 Swiss franc from 1.0047 Swiss franc, and it decreased to 1.3250 Canadian dollars from 1.3281 Canadian dollars.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.08 per cent at 96.9037 in late trading.

US industrial production dipped 0.6 per cent in January, the first drop in eight months, the Federal Reserve reported on Friday. The reading missed market consensus.

US import prices slid 0.5 per cent in January, said the Department of Labor, following a 1 per cent drop in December and a 1.7 per cent decrease in November.

The gloomy data came after the Commerce Department reported on Thursday that US retail sales in December sank 1.2 per cent from the prior month, the worst drop in nine years.

--IANS

pgh/