Investing.com - The euro held gains against the dollar on Wednesday despite data showing that euro zone retail sales fell in February, snapping four straight months of gains.
EUR/USD was at 1.0863, up 0.45% for the day, little changed from ahead of the report.
The European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat reported that retail sales fell 0.2% in February, in line with market expectations. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales rose 3.0% also in line with forecasts.
The report said gasoline sales fell for the first time since September, indicating that the boost to consumer spending from lower oil prices may be waning.
The dollar remained broadly lower as investors turned their attention to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, due to be released later in the day.
Investors were on the lookout for any indications that Fed officials are concerned over the impact of the strong dollar on the U.S. economic recovery.
The dollar was also lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.41% to 119.81.
The yen received a boost after the Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged earlier Wednesday despite a slowdown in inflation.
Meanwhile, EUR/JPY edged up 0.13% to 130.29.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.67% to 97.59.