Investing.com - The U.S. dollar moved broadly lower against its major counterparts in U.S. trade Friday, as investors turned to concerns over European banking health and a slowdown in the global economy.
In early U.S. trade, the greenback was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD gaining 0.44% to hit 1.4396.
Markets reacted to a slew of U.S. economic data released Thursday, including a Labor Department report that initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 408,000 for the week ending August 12.
Jobless claims were forecast to hit 400,000 for the period.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell by 3.5% in July, hitting an eight-month low. Economist’s forecasts predicted a gain of 2.7% for the month.
And in a separate release, core consumer price inflation rose by 0.2% in July after a 0.3% gain the previous month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI figures for July were in line with market expectations.
Meanwhile, European debt woes continued to weigh heavy on markets, as European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Friday the EU may consider the joint issuing of euro bonds in an effort to strengthen fiscal discipline among euro-zone nations.
In early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15% at 10,973.70, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.4% to 2,389.86, and the S&P 500 gained 0.09% to 1,141.66.
Meanwhile, the greenback was down against the British pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.12% to 1.6537.
The dollar surrendered ground against both the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY sinking 0.22% to hit 76.39, and USD/CHF lower by 1.01% to hit 0.7660.
The yen earlier strengthened to a postwar record high of 75.97 versus the dollar, prompting speculation that the Bank of Japan may be prepared for another intervention in the currency market to weaken the Japanese currency.
The greenback was lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts with USD/CAD down 0.5% to hit 0.9852, AUD/USD higher by 0.47% to hit 1.0439, and NZD/USD gaining 0.29% to hit 0.8238.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.45% at 73.95.