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Forex - Dollar Remains Broadly Lower Despite Upbeat U.S. Data

Published 11/17/2017, 08:37 AM
Updated 11/17/2017, 08:37 AM
© Reuters.  Dollar still on the downside as Mueller investigation developments weigh

© Reuters. Dollar still on the downside as Mueller investigation developments weigh

Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly lower against other major currencies on Friday, as concerns over an investigation into Donald Trump's presidential campaign continued to weigh on the greenback despite the release of upbeat U.S. housing sector data.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported on Friday that builing permits and housing starts both increased far more than expected last month.

But sentiment on the greenback remained fragile following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign had been subpoenaed for documents in an ongoing investigation relating to possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued a subpoena to more than a dozen officials.

Robert Mueller is currently heading an investigation into attempts by the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election and potential collusion with Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Separately, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a broad package of tax cuts, which will now be debated by the Senate.

Investors were still cautious however, as the Republican majority is smaller in the Senate and no decisive action is expected until after next week's Thanksgiving holiday.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.10% at 93.75 by 08:35 a.m. ET (12:35 GMT), not far from Wednesday's three-week lows of 93.31.

EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1778, while GBP/USD held steady at 1.3187.

In a speech Friday morning, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the central bank needs to be "patient" when normalizing monetary policy.

Draghi also said that the ECB's bond purchasing program could continue beyond September 2018 "if necessary, and in any case until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation."

The remarks came a day after official data showed that euro zone consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 1.4% in October, down from 1.5% in September and still below the ECB's target of close to 2%.

Elsewhere, USD/JPY slid 0.34% to trade at 112.66, while USD/CHF fell 0.15% to 0.9923.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.59% at 0.7543 and with NZD/USD retreating 0.86% to 0.6789.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD added 0.16% to 1.2777 after Statistics Canada said that consumer prices ticked up 0.1% in October, in line with expectations.

Year-over-year, consumer prices increased 1.4%, also as expected.

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