U.S. dollar slides, on pace for worst weekly stretch in a decade
The dollar stumbled on Friday, falling for eight straight weeks, as investors continued to shun it and looked to other currencies whose economies are currently outperforming that of the United States in terms of managing the coronavirus pandemic.
The delay in the passage of additional U.S. stimulus for virus relief did not help the dollar’s cause as well.
The dollar’s eight straight weeks of losses was its longest run of weakness in a decade, Refinitiv data showed, with Friday’s decent batch of U.S. economic data failing to lift the greenback.
In late morning trading, the dollar index slipped 0.2% to 93.105, on pace for eight consecutive weeks of losses, the worst losing streak since June 2010.
The dollar showed little reaction to data showing a 1.2% rise in the U.S. retail sales’ headline number in July, which was lower than expected, but a higher than forecast gain of 1.9%, excluding autos.
Other reports such as consumer sentiment and industrial production had little dollar impact on Friday.
Against other currencies, the dollar was on track to post its best weekly percentage gain versus the yen in two months. It was last down 0.5% at 106.45 yen.
The euro, meanwhile, continued its rise, up 0.1% at $1.1827, rising for eight straight weeks.
Growing faith in Europe’s rebound and concern about the U.S. response as the coronavirus spreads and politicians remain deadlocked over the next relief package have bolstered the euro.
The pound was also 0.4% higher against the dollar at $1.3110, as investors sought to focus on a rebound in growth in June rather than a stunning 20% quarterly contraction.
Reference: CNBC
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