Investing.com - The dollar slid to session lows against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday, following the release of a series of below forecast U.S. economic reports.
The US dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, touched lows of 87.69 and was last down 0.21% to 87.78.
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.
EUR/USD touched session highs of 1.2508 after the data, and was last up 0.10% to 1.2486.
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 0.21% to 117.72, off Tuesday’s highs of 118.56, while USD/CHF dipped 0.09% to 1.5781.
The pound was at two week highs, with GBP/USD up 0.46% to 1.5780.
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 0.27% to 0.8508, while NZD/USD extended gains, rising 0.56% to 0.7851. Meanwhile, USD/CAD was little changed at 1.1265.