Investing.com - The dollar declined further against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday, as the release of a series of below forecast U.S. economic reports continued to weigh on demand for the greenback.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, touched lows of 87.64 and was last down 0.33% to 87.66.
The drop in the dollar came after the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose to 313,000 last week, a gain of 21,000. It was the highest level since early September.
The number of continuing claims fell to a 14-year low of 2.31 million, indicating that the jobs market is still recovering.
At the same time, official data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% in October, below forecasts for an increase 0.4%. Personal income rose also rose 0.2%, falling short of forecasts of 0.4%.
Another report showed that durable goods orders rose 0.4% last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 0.4%, but core durable goods orders fell 0.9%, against forecasts for a 0.5% gain.
Other reports showed that U.S. consumer sentiment was higher this month, but manufacturing activity in the Chicago region slowed and new home sales rose in line with forecasts.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index was revised to 88.8, up from 86.9 in October but below the preliminary estimate of 89.4.
The Chicago purchasing managers’ index fell from 66.2 in October to 60.8 this month, below expectations of a figure of 63.1.
Finally, data showed that sales of new homes rose 0.7% in October to an annual rate of 458,000 units, but pending home sales unexpectedly fell 1.1% last month.
The reports came one day after data showing the U.S. economy posted growth of 3.9% in the last quarter, far higher than the initial estimate of 3.5% and sparked fears that the rate of the economic recovery could slow in the fourth quarter.
EUR/USD touched session highs of 1.2516 and was last up 0.27% to 1.2509.
The single currency fell to lows of 1.2444 earlier after a senior European Central Bank official said it could begin quantitative easing as soon as the first quarter of next year.
USD/JPY was down 0.36% to 117.54, off Tuesday’s highs of 118.56, while USD/CHF fell 0.29% to 0.9612.
The pound remained near two-week highs, with GBP/USD up 0.45% to 1.5778.
Sterling was boosted after data on Wednesday confirmed that the U.K. economy grew 0.7% in the July-to-September period, and expanded 3.0% on a year-over-year basis, in line with the preliminary estimates released last month.
The Australian dollar backed off the four-year lows struck overnight, with AUD/USD down 0.11% to 0.8524, while NZD/USD extended gains, climbing 0.85% to 0.7874. Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.18% to trade at 1.1238.