Dollar Cuts Losses After Hitting Record Low vs Euro
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar slumped to a record low against the euro on Friday after a soft reading on U.S. growth but later pared losses on a report showing consumer confidence was better-than-expected in April.
The consumer confidence survey for April lent support to the dollar after the currency fell sharply on news the economy grew just 1.3 percent in the first quarter, although the market's bias overall was still to sell the dollar.
"The fact that the consumer sentiment report came in a little better than expected takes the heat off the dollar for the moment," said Brian Dolan, director of FX research at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey.
"But it's still a position-driven market. The dollar is heavy but it's not making any gains and it comes down to whether or not we see some short-covering into the end of the week," he added.
A survey showed on Friday that U.S. consumer sentiment fell in April to its lowest in seven months but was better than first estimated for the month and above market expectations. Consumer sentiment was helped by the recent rally in the stock market.
The dollar edged higher after the report, pushing the euro to $1.3654 from $1.3670 previously. Earlier, the euro hit a lifetime peak of $1.3683, according to electronic trading platform EBS, after the softer-than-expected U.S. gross domestic product data.
The euro last traded at $1.3661, up 0.5 percent on the day.
Against the yen, the dollar trimmed losses to 119.42 yen but was still down 0.1 percent from late Thursday.
