Earlier, reports that the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh will say they aim to continue to provide support for the global economy had lifted stock futures and pressured the dollar.
The G20 Communique is believed to seek to "reassure that stimulus would remain in place for now despite central bank moves to mop up excess dollar liquidity," said analysts at Action Economics.
The dollar index (DXY 76.89, -0.01, -0.02%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 76.910 in recent trading, up from 76.901 late Thursday.
Orders of durable goods fell 2.4% in August. Excluding transportation goods, orders were flat. See full story.
Still to come are reports on new-home sales and consumer confidence.
The dollar remained down almost 1% versus the Japanese yen after Japan's Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said he opposes intervening in the currency markets to curb the rise in the yen, according to media reports
In recent trading, the greenback dropped 0.9% to 90.32 Japanese yen. Earlier, the dollar hit an intraday low of 89.94 yen.
The dollar traded under 90.00 yen for the first time since February, said analysts at Action Economics.
Yen "movement was dominated by light repatriation flows relating to next week's fiscal half-year," they said. Also, "Japanese finance minister Fujii continued to make supportive yen remarks overnight and ruled out intervention again."
Currency traders will also be following further developments at the G20 meeting.
The Wall Street Journal reported the G20 is close to an agreement that will require members to subject their economic policies to peer review, though the mechanism is unclear and there don't appear to be any sanctions involved. Read more.
The euro edged up 0.1% to $1.4652, while the British pound fell 0.5% to $1.5983.
The New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar also gained against the greenback, as oil priced rebounded modestly.
