NEW YORK: The safe-haven US dollar fell modestly in morning trading on Thursday after domestic retail sales data for June came in better than expected, though the move was limited by jobless claims and a drop in US equities.
Retail sales in June increased for the second consecutive month, according to a report from the Commerce Department. The US dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of six rivals, was last down 0.07% to 95.940.
A separate report from the Labour Department on Thursday showed 1.3 million people filed for state unemployment benefits during the week ending July 11, slightly down from 1.31 million in the prior period. The report nevertheless showed that a resurgence in new Covid-19 cases was chipping at the budding recovery.
The euro was little moved by the outcome of the European Central Bank meeting, last trading up 0.10% to $1.142.
The meeting was seen as something of a non-event by analysts, who said it was overshadowed by the EU summit, at which European countries are expected to vote on a 750 billion euro ($856 billion) recovery fund to revive euro area growth.