By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar edged lower against several major rivals on Thursday, with confidence in the ongoing U.S. economic recovery continuing to send investors away from the U.S. unit.
The dollar index (DXY 78.20, -0.03, -0.04%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six currencies, traded at 78.17, down from 78.24 in late North American trade on Wednesday.
The greenback extended losses from Wednesday when minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting showed officials raised their outlook for the U.S. economy.
“The dollar was left weaker given the Fed’s sanguine view on inflation and worries about unemployment,” Credit Agricole strategists said in a note Thursday.
Consumer price inflation data for the U.S. is due out Thursday, with economists expecting a 0.3% rise in CPI and a 0.1% rise in core CPI, according to data compiled by MarketWatch.
Further losses for the dollar may be seen after the data, the strategists said.
“The fact that the core rate of consumer price inflation is expected to remain well below the Fed’s preferred level could undermine the dollar and add a further barrier to the U.S. dollar’s recovery so far in February,” the analysts added.
The euro (EURUSD 1.3572, +0.0003, +0.0221%) traded at $1.3570, compared with $1.3566 on Wednesday. The British pound (GBPUSD 1.6110, +0.0017, +0.1056%) traded at $1.6099, up from $1.6094 on Wednesday. See real-time currency quotes and tools.
The dollar (USDYEN 83.5500, -0.1100, -0.1315%) bought 83.57 yen, down from ¥83.62 in late Wednesday trading.
