Dollar Turns In Subdued Performance Against Major Counterparts
(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar turned in a subdued performance against its major rivals on Tuesday after data showing a drop in U.S. consumer prices supported expectations for a smaller rate hike by the Federal Reserve this month.
Data from the Labor Department this morning showed consumer price index rose by 0.4% in February after climbing by 0.5% in January.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, increased by 0.5% in February after rising by 0.4% in the previous month. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.4%.
The report also showed the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 6% in February from 6.4% in January.
The slowdown in year-over-year price growth may help offset recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
The dollar index, which climbed to 104.05 in the Asian session, dropped to 103.50 soon after the release of the inflation data, and despite recovering to 103.90 subsequently, fell again and was last seen at 103.63, up just marginally from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar is down slightly at 1.0735, easing from 1.0679.
The dollar is trading at 1.2154 against Pound Sterling, up from the previous close of 1.2184.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is gaining about 0.7% at 134.20 yen.
The dollar is weak against the Aussie at 0.6679. Against Swiss franc, the dollar is trading at CHF 0.9140, after having weakened to CHF 0.9096 earlier. Against the Loonie, the dollar is trading at C$ 1.3690.
TSX Down Sharply; Materials Stocks Tumble
Bay Street Headed For Weak Start
FTSE 100 Down 1.4%; Bank Stocks Fall On U.S. Lenders' Credit Woes
CAC 40 Drifts Lower As Bank Stocks Tumble; Essilor Jumps On Strong Earnings
Pound Falls Amid BoE Rate Cut Speculation
Sensex Rises 485 Points; Nifty Tops 25,700
Pound Falls Against Majors
