Investing.com - The dollar was trading at almost five week lows against the other major currencies on Thursday as investors continued to discount chances for a near term rate hike from the Federal Reserve, while the New Zealand dollar hit one-year highs.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 93.62, not far from Wednesday’s lows of 93.41, the weakest level since May 6.
Markets have pushed back expectations on the timing of the next rate hike by the U.S. central bank after Friday’s dismal employment report for May, which showed the slowest rate of jobs growth since September 2010.
A speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Monday indicated that interest rates won’t rise until uncertainty over the economic outlook is resolved.
Yellen said she expects the economic recovery to continue but gave no indications on the timing of a next rate increase.
The Fed raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in December.
The dollar fell to fresh five-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.59% at 106.35.
The euro eased, with EUR/USD sliding 0.14% to 1.1376.
In the euro zone, data on Thursday showed an unexpected 0.2% fall in German imports in May, while exports were flat.
The drop in imports meant that the country’s trade surplus widened to €24.0 billion from revised €23.7 billion in March.
Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned Thursday that uncertainty over the future of the euro is holding back progress in the region.
The comments came during a speech at the Brussels Economic Forum.
The New Zealand dollar surged to one-year highs after the country’s central bank held interest rates steady, surprising some investors who had been expecting a rate cut.
NZD/USD hit highs of 0.7147, the most since June 2015 and was last at 0.7119, up 0.39% for the day.
The pound was lower, with GBP/USD down 0.35% at 1.4455 amid ongoing uncertainty over whether Britain will remain in the European Union or not at a referendum on June 23.