Dollar falls on euro vote, yen weak on sales data

NEW YORK: The dollar fell back against most major currencies on Thursday, after Germany's parliament voted overwhelmingly to boost the eurozone rescue fund and positive US growth and unemployment figures.

The European single currency climbed to $1.3586 from $1.3536 late in New York on Wednesday.

"The dollar fell against the euro and most of its rivals Thursday after Germany's parliament approved by a landslide vote new measures to give the bloc's bailout fund more muscle," said analysts at Travelex.

The German parliament passed a beefed-up rescue fund for stricken eurozone countries by a large majority on Thursday in a vote seen as crucial to stem financial market turmoil.

The dollar fell against the British pound, which traded at $1.5618 compared to $1.5578 the day before.

The dollar also weakened against the Swiss currency, to 0.8977 francs from 0.9001 francs.

But the greenback managed to gain ground on the yen. The dollar rose to 76.79 yen from 76.53 yen the previous day.

"The yen lost ground against its generally weaker US peer, pressured by much weaker than expected retail sales data that suggested the nation's recovery from recession may be losing steam," said the Travelex client note.

Japan's retail sales fell for the first time in three months during August, data showed on Thursday.

Retail sales fell 2.6 percent in August from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. It was the steepest decline since March, when the country was battered by a huge earthquake and tsunami.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011