Dollar Loses Ground Against Some Major Counterparts As Traders Eye More Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar was subdued against most of its major counterparts on Wednesday, giving up some of the ground it gained in the previous session after somewhat hot inflation data.

Data released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed the U.S. consumer price index climbed by 0.4% in February after rising by 0.3% in January.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth ticked up to 3.2% in February from 3.1% in January.

Meanwhile, the annual rate of core consumer price growth slowed to 3.8% in February from 3.9% in January. Economists had expected the pace of growth to decelerate to 3.7%.

The Labor Department's data on producer price inflation is due on Thursday. Producer prices are expected to rise by 0.3% in February, matching the increase seen in January, while the annual rate of producer price growth is expected to accelerate to 1.1% from 0 .9%.

Traders will also be tracking the reports on weekly jobless claims and retail sales on Thursday. On Friday, data on import and export prices, industrial production and consumer sentiment are due.

The dollar index, which edged up to 103.02 in the European session, turned weak again and dropped to a low of 102.67 around early afternoon, and despite recovering to 102.81, was down well below the flat line a little while ago.

Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to 1.0949 from 1.0930, and edged down marginally to 1.2795 against Pound Sterling.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar gained a bit, firming to 147.79 yen. The dollar weakened to 0.6621 against the Aussie. Against Swiss franc, the greenback was up, fetching CHF 0.8790 a unit, and against the Loonie, it dropped to C$ 1.3472.