Investing.com - The dollar rose to one-week highs against the other major currencies on Wednesday, despite the release of disappointing U.S. economic reports, as the greenback continued to recover from sharp losses posted earlier in the week.
USD/JPY gained 0.51% to 109.19, off the almost 18-month low of 107.62 set on Monday.
The U.S. Census Bureau said that retail sales fell by 0.3% in March, disappointing expectations for an uptick of 0.1% and after a 0.1% fall the previous month.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose by 0.2% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.1% slip in February.
A separate report showed that the U.S. producer price index fell by 0.1% in March, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.2% and after a 0.2% decline the previous month. Year-on-year, producer prices slipped 0.1% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.3% gain.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, slipped 0.1% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% uptick and following a flat reading in February.
The dollar rebounded earlier Wednesday from sharp losses posted since recent dovish comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen prompted investors to push back expectations on the timing of the next interest rate increase.
EUR/USD was down 0.82% at 1.1290, off Tuesday’s six-month peaks of 1.1464.
Meanwhile, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.26% at 1.4223 and with USD/CHF rallying 0.95% to 0.9646.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.40% at 0.7650 and with NZD/USD slipping 0.12% to 0.6914.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD held steady at a nine-month low of 1.2767 after the Bank of Canada said it was leaving its overnight cash rate unchanged at 0.50%, in line with market expectations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.67% at 94.65, the highest since April 6.