Investing.com - The dollar was hovering at four-month lows against a basket of other major currencies on Thursday, as the previous session's U.S. retail sales report continued to weigh on the greenback and as investors eyed additional U.S. data to be released later in the day.
The dollar remained under pressure after the U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales were unchanged, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose just 0.1%, undershooting forecasts for a 0.5% gain.
The data underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay hiking rates until later in the year, after recent figures showed that the U.S. economy expanded just 0.2% in the first quarter.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.52% to 93.25, the lowest level since January.
EUR/USD was up 0.56% to two-and-a-half month highs of 1.1418.
The single currency remained supported as German and U.S. bund yields rose to the highest level in five months as a broad based selloff in global bond markets continued.
Germany 10-year bund yields rose to 0.712 on Thursday, the highest since early December.
German bund yields act as benchmarks for European financial markets and higher yields push the euro higher against the dollar. Yields rise as prices fall.
The pound was trading at a six-month peak, with GBP/USD up 0.28% to 1.5788.
Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 119.22 and lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF sliding 0.64% to 0.9108.
The Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD down 0.22% to 0.8093, while NZD/USD edged up 0.17% to 0.7501.
Statistics New Zealand earlier reported that retail sales increased by 2.7% in the first quarter, exceeding expectations for a 1.5% rise, after a 1.7% gain in the three months to December.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles and gas stations, rose 2.9% in the three months to March, beating expectations for a 1.5% gain. The change in core retails for the last quarter of 2014 was revised to a 1.9% increase from a previously estimated 1.5% rise.
A separate report showed that New Zealand's Business Manufacturing Index slipped to 51.8 last month from 54.6 in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated reading of 54.5.
USD/CAD slipped 0.10% to trade at 1.1946.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish reports on producer prices and initial jobless claims.