Dollar Drifts Lower On Trade War Concerns

RTTNews | 155 days ago
Dollar Drifts Lower On Trade War Concerns

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar drifted lower on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on auto and auto components imports, and added that he would impose far larger levies than currently planned if the EU and Canada collaborate to harm the U.S. economy.

In economic news, a report from the Commerce Department said gross domestic product surged by 2.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the previously reported 2.3% jump. Economists had expected the pace of GDP growth to be unrevised.

A separate report released by the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales saw a significant rebound in the month of February after plunging to an all-time low in January.

NAR said its pending home sales index surged by 2% to 72.0 in February after plunging 4.6% to an all-time low of 70.6 in January. Economists had expected pending home sales to jump by 1.5%.

The dollar index dropped to a low of 104.07 in the New York session, and despite recovering to 104.26 subsequently, remained in negative territory, losing about 0.25%.

Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to 1.0804. Against Pound Sterling, the dollar weakened to 1.2949.

The dollar firmed against the Japanese currency, fetching 151.05 yen a unit. Against the Aussie, the dollar weakened to 0.6305.

The Swiss franc firmed against the dollar to CHF 0.8818, while the Loonie weakened to 1.4307 a unit of the U.S. currency.

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