Investing.com - The dollar dropped to nearly two-month lows against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting crushed expectations for a September rate hike.
EUR/USD edged up 0.15% to 1.1307, just off a nearly two-month high of 1.1332 hit overnight.
The dollar came under pressure after the minutes of the Fed’s July policy meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that policymakers were still divided over the need to raise interest rates this year.
"Some ... members anticipated that economic conditions would soon warrant taking another step in removing policy accommodation," the Fed said in the minutes.
However, several policymakers said they wanted to "leave their policy options open."
In the euro zone, data showed that the consumer price index fell 0.6% in July, compared to an initial estimate for a 0.2% rise. Year-on-year, consumer prices rose 0.2%, in line with expectations.
GBP/USD advanced 0.88% to a nearly two-week high of 1.3154.
Sterling was boosted after the U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales rose 1.4% in June after a 0.9% the previous month. Analysts had expected retail sales to increase 0.2% last month.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased 5.9%, compared to June’s 4.3% gain which was revised from the initial reading of a 4.3% gain. Consensus had forecast a 4.2% rise.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, gained 1.5% last month, following a 0.9% drop in June. Analysts had expected core retail sales to increase 0.4% last month.
USD/JPY was little changed at 100.30, near Tuesday’s one-and-a-half month low of 99.52, while USD/CHF dropped 0.32% to 0.9595.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.44% at 0.7689 and with NZD/USD gaining 0.30% to 0.7274.
Earlier Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the number of employed people rose by 26,200 in July, blowing past expectations for an increase of 11,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 5.7% last month from 5.8% in June. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged in July.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD slipped 0.21% to 1.2818, not far from Tuesday’s one-and-a-half month low of 1.2793.
The commodity currencies were supported by a rebound in oil prices after data on Wednesday showed that U.S. stockpiles dropped unexpectedly last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.23% at 94.47, after hitting a nearly two-month low of 94.31 earlier in the day.