U.S. Dollar Drops Amid Weak Durable Goods Orders Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar fell against its major counterparts in the European session on Monday, after a data showed that the nation's durable goods orders declined more than expected in January.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that durable goods orders plunged by 4.5 percent in January after surging by a downwardly revised 5.1 percent in December.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 4.0 percent compared to the 5.6 percent spike that had been reported for the previous month.

The steep drop by durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment plummeted by 13.3 percent in January after soaring by 15.8 percent in December.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.7 percent in January after falling by 0.4 percent in December. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent uptick.

The greenback edged down to 135.92 against the yen and 1.3557 against the loonie, from its prior highs of 136.55 and 1.1922, respectively. The greenback may locate support around 121.00 against the yen and 1.33 against the loonie.

The greenback slipped to 0.9368 against the franc, 1.0588 against the euro and 1.2024 against the pound, after rising to a 2-1/2-month high of 0.9429, 1-1/2-month high of 1.0532 and a 10-day high of 1.1922, respectively. The greenback is seen finding support around 0.90 against the franc, 1.09 against the euro and 1.23 against the pound.

The greenback was trading at 0.6729 against the aussie and 0.6166 against the kiwi, off its early near 2-month high of 0.6698 and more than a 3-month high of 0.6131, respectively. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around 0.70 against the aussie and 0.64 against the kiwi.