Forexpros – The U.S. dollar traded lower against its major counterparts Monday, as fears of the pending Greek debt swap and mixed worldwide economic data weighed on risk appetite
During U.S. afternoon trade, the dollar was modestly lower against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.23% to hit 1.3228.
Sentiment on the single currency remained weak amid uncertainty over whether Greece will finalize a debt swap deal with its private creditors prior to a March 8 deadline.
A failure to agree on the debt restructuring deal would put the country back on the brink of a sovereign debt default.
However, the euro found support after official data showed that retail sales advanced for the first time in five months in January, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, defying expectations for a 0.1% decline.
The positive data offset a report showing that the euro zone’s services sector contracted at faster rate than initially estimated in February, shrinking for the fifth time in six months.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD adding 0.19% to hit 1.5864.
Earlier Monday, data showed that the U.K. service sector expanded in February, however at a slower than expected pace, increasing hopes that the economy will avoid a first quarter recession.
In addition, the greenback was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY shedding 0.49% to hit 81.40 and USD/CHF giving back 0.21% to hit 0.9120.
In Switzerland, government data indicated that retail sales climbed at the fastest rate in seven months in January, surging 4.4%, after a 1.7% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, the greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD advancing 0.48% to hit 0.9938, AUD/USD falling 0.59% to hit 1.0668 and NZD/USD tumbling 0.89% to hit 0.8216.
In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management reported its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index climbed to 57.3 in February from a reading of 56.8 the previous month.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to 56.1.
A separate report showed that U.S. factory orders fell, albeit at a slower than forecast pace in January, declining by a seasonally adjusted 1.0%, compared to expectations for a 1.3% slide.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slipped 0.18% to hit 79.33.
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