Investing.com - The dollar was broadly lower on Thursday amid uncertainty over how soon the Federal Reserve will start unwinding stimulus, while the pound advanced to two-month highs following strong U.K. retail sales for July.
During European late morning trade, the pound rose to its highest level since June 19 against the dollar, with GBP/USD climbing 0.53% to 1.5581.
Official data showed that U.K. retail sales climbed 1.1% in July, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain and were 3% higher from a year earlier.
Sunnier summer weather boosted sales of food, alcohol, clothing and outdoor items, the report said.
The dollar remained under pressure amid ongoing uncertainty over whether the U.S. economic recovery is strong enough for the Fed to begin phasing out its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program later this year.
The dollar slipped lower against the yen, with USD/JPY easing down 0.08% to 98.05.
The yen firmed up after Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso played down reports of a corporate tax cut on Thursday, saying it would not have any immediate impact on the economy.
Elsewhere, the dollar was weaker against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.22% to 1.3285.
The euro remained supported one day after data showed that the euro zone economy expanded 0.3% in the three months to June, the fastest quarterly expansion since the first quarter of 2011.
The dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF edging down 0.07% to trade at 0.9349.
The greenback was broadly weaker against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD up 0.58% to 0.9174, NZD/USD advancing 0.75% to 0.8087 and USD/CAD down 0.25% to 1.0313.
The New Zealand dollar was boosted after a report showed that the Business New Zealand manufacturing index rose to 59.5 in July, from a reading of 54.7 the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.23% to 81.58.
Investors were looking ahead to a series of U.S. economic data releases later in the trading day, including reports on consumer inflation, jobless claims, industrial production and manufacturing data from the Empire state and the Philly Fed.
During European late morning trade, the pound rose to its highest level since June 19 against the dollar, with GBP/USD climbing 0.53% to 1.5581.
Official data showed that U.K. retail sales climbed 1.1% in July, beating expectations for a 0.6% gain and were 3% higher from a year earlier.
Sunnier summer weather boosted sales of food, alcohol, clothing and outdoor items, the report said.
The dollar remained under pressure amid ongoing uncertainty over whether the U.S. economic recovery is strong enough for the Fed to begin phasing out its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program later this year.
The dollar slipped lower against the yen, with USD/JPY easing down 0.08% to 98.05.
The yen firmed up after Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso played down reports of a corporate tax cut on Thursday, saying it would not have any immediate impact on the economy.
Elsewhere, the dollar was weaker against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.22% to 1.3285.
The euro remained supported one day after data showed that the euro zone economy expanded 0.3% in the three months to June, the fastest quarterly expansion since the first quarter of 2011.
The dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF edging down 0.07% to trade at 0.9349.
The greenback was broadly weaker against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD up 0.58% to 0.9174, NZD/USD advancing 0.75% to 0.8087 and USD/CAD down 0.25% to 1.0313.
The New Zealand dollar was boosted after a report showed that the Business New Zealand manufacturing index rose to 59.5 in July, from a reading of 54.7 the previous month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.23% to 81.58.
Investors were looking ahead to a series of U.S. economic data releases later in the trading day, including reports on consumer inflation, jobless claims, industrial production and manufacturing data from the Empire state and the Philly Fed.