Dollar Drops on Speculation Economic Data Push Back Rates Timing

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The dollar declined after unexpectedly weak U.S. economic reports renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to raise interest rates.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped for the first time in five days after a private jobs report and a measure of factory output came in lower than projected. This comes before the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report on April 3.

Bloomberg’s Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 10 of its peers, fell 0.2 percent to 1,198.19 as of 5 p.m. New York time. The gauge gained for a ninth month in March, the longest streak in data going back to 2004.

The greenback weakened 0.3 percent to $1.0763 per euro after reaching $1.0458 on March 16, the strongest level since January 2003.

The yen gained for the first time in three days against the dollar, adding 0.3 percent to 119.76. It was little changed at 128.89 versus the euro.

Source : Bloomberg