Dollar Drifts Lower Against Major Counterparts Ahead Of Key Economic Events

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar drifted lower on Monday as investors looked ahead to some key economic events, such as the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement, the release of the minutes from Federal Reserve's recent monetary policy meeting, and U.S. consumer and producer price inflation data.

The dollar index slid to 104.10 before recovering slightly to 104.15, but was still well behind the previous close.

Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to 1.0860 from 1.0840. The dollar eased to 1.2655 against Pound Sterling. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar gained in strength, fetching 151.85 yen a unit.

The dollar was weak against the Aussie at 0.6602. The Swiss franc weakened against the dollar to CHF 0.9054. The greenback drifted down against the Loonie to C$ 1.3575.

The European Central Bank, which is set to announce its monetary policy on Thursday, is expected to keep its key rates unchanged while laying the ground for a first interest-rate cut in June.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release its reports on consumer and producer inflation in the month of March on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Economists currently expect consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent in March following a 0.4 percent increase in February.

Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, are also expected to climb by 0.3% in March after rising by 0.4% in February.

The annual rate of consumer price growth is expected to accelerate to 3.4% in March from 3.2% in February, while the annual rate of core consumer price growth is expected to slow to 3.7% for 3.8%.

Producer prices are expected to rise by 0.3% in March after climbing by 0.6% in February, while the annual rate of producer growth is expected to jump to 2.3% from 1.6%.