The dollar traded near a six-week low versus the euro before Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks today, after saying last month U.S. interest rates will stay low for a “considerable time.”
A dollar index fell for a fifth day yesterday after a gauge of U.S. manufacturing rose less than economists forecast. Australia’s dollar was near the strongest level since November before trade data today. New Zealand’s currency retreated from an almost three-year high after milk powder prices fell at an auction. The European Central Bank sets policy tomorrow.
“The U.S. data has been weakening somewhat, and that is accelerating dollar selling,” said Yuki Sakasai, a foreign-exchange strategist at Barclays in New York. “We need some hawkish signals from the Fed to change that trend.”
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