WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar drifted down to a more than 3-week low on Tuesday with traders looking ahead to the upcoming U.S. jobs data, and speculating about the central bank's likely take on monetary policy.
Ever since the Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his speech at the Jackson Hole symposium Friday morning that the central bank will likely start reducing its monthly bond purchases before the end of this year, but rate hikes might not happen anytime soon, the dollar has been turning in a subdued performance against its major rivals.
A report from the Conference Board showed a substantial deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of August.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 113.8 in August from a downwardly revised 125.1 in July. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to drop to 123.0 from the 129.1 originally reported for the previous month.
With the bigger than expected decrease, the index slumped to its lowest level since hitting 95.2 in February of 2021.
The dollar index, which slid to 92.40 earlier in the day, was last seen at 92.67, little changed from the previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar is weak at $1.1810, compared to Monday's close of $1.1799. Flash data from Eurostat showed eurozone inflation rose to 3% in August from 2.2% in July. This was the highest since November 2011 and also exceeded the European Central Bank's 2% target and economists' forecast of 2.7%.
The Pound Sterling is up slightly at $1.3754 a unit. The UK mortgage approvals declined to one-year low in July following the initial tapering off of the stamp duty holiday, figures from the Bank of England showed.
The Yen is weak at 110.00 a dollar, easing from 109.92. Japan's retail sales grew for the fifth straight month in July, rising by 2.4% year-on-year, data published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed.
On a monthly basis, retail sales were up 1.1 percent in July, data showed.
Against the Aussie, the dollar has weakened to 0.7314, drifting down from 0.7296. Australia's retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 2.7% from June, when they dropped 1.8%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists had forecast a 2.3% slump.
The Swiss franc has firmed to 0.9153 a dollar, gaining from 0.9174.
The Loonie is down slightly at 1.2616 a dollar. The Canadian economy unexpectedly shrank 0.3% on quarter in the second quarter, ending three straight quarters of expansion. On an annualized basis, the Canadian economy contracted 1.1%, compared to forecasts of a 2.5% expansion.
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