Investing.com - The dollar traded largely lower against most major currencies on Wednesday after data revealed the U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter by more than markets were expecting, posting its worst performance in five years.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was up 0.17% at 1.3630.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that U.S. gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first quarter of the year, far surpassing consensus forecasts for a decline of 1.7%.
U.S. first-quarter GDP was initially reported to have increased by 0.1%, but was subsequently revised to show a contraction of 1.0%.
The difference between the second and third estimate was the largest since records began in 1976, the Commerce Department added.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell 1.0% in May, while core durable goods orders fell 0.1%. Market expectations had been for an increase of 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
The data weakened the dollar by fueling expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep benchmark interest rates on hold at record lows for longer than thought.
The dollar didn't plummet, however, as rough winter weather likely exacerbated the economy's poor showing, while recent data has suggested that U.S. economic activity has rebounded sharply from the first three months of the year.
Meanwhile in Europe, market research group Gfk earlier said that its German consumer climate index rose to a seven-and-a-half year high of 8.9 in June, from 8.6 in May, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated reading of 8.5. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 8.5 this month.
The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.09% at 101.86, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.10% at 0.8929.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.05% at 1.6978.
The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.21% at 1.0721, AUD/USD up 0.33% at 0.9399 and NZD/USD up 0.67% at 0.8741.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.15% at 80.27.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release data on personal income and expenditure, as well as data on inflation linked to personal spending.