U.S. Dollar Lower After Soft Retail Sales Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar fell against its most major counterparts in the New York session on Monday, following the release of weak retail sales data that boosted Fed rate cut expectations.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in February after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in January.

Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.9 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a decrease in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales increased by 0.3 percent in February after falling by 0.6 percent in January. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.5 percent.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday.

While the Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials' latest projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

The greenback declined to a 5-day low of 1.0929 against the euro, 6-day low of 0.8797 against the franc and more than a 4-month low of 1.2994 against the pound. The greenback is poised to challenge support around 1.12 against the euro, 0.85 against the franc and 1.31 against the pound.

The greenback dropped to a 3-week low of 0.6387 against the aussie, 10-day low of 1.4282 against the loonie and more than a 3-month low of 0.5821 against the kiwi. The currency is likely to locate support around 0.65 against the aussie, 1.38 against the loonie and 0.60 against the kiwi.

In contrast, the greenback hovered at a 5-day high of 147.09 against the yen. The currency is seen finding resistance around the 152.00 level.