The dollar weakened for a second day against the euro before a report that economists forecast will show a slowdown in the growth of U.S. retail sales.


America’s currency fell versus 13 of its 16 major counterparts. It was less than 1.4 percent from the 2 1/2-month low reached against the euro last week after a report showed growth in the 19-nation currency bloc expanded at the fastest pace in almost two years in the first quarter.

“On the European side we have had some good numbers and on the other side people have been disappointed in the performance of U.S. data and that is weighing on the dollar and allowing the euro to trade higher,” said Sonja Marten, a currency strategist at DZ Bank AG in Frankfurt.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback versus 10 major trading partners, fell 0.2 percent to 1,160.97 at 7:38 a.m. New York time.

It depreciated 0.2 percent to $1.1237 per euro after reaching $1.1392 on May 7, the weakest level since Feb. 23. The dollar lost 0.1 percent to 119.72 yen.

U.S. retail sales data due 8:30 a.m. will show a 0.2 percent increase in April from the previous month, down from a 0.9 percent jump in March, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Euro-area gross domestic product increased 0.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said on Wednesday.




That’s in line with the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey, and the strongest growth since the second quarter of 2013. Industrial production data unexpectedly fell.

DZ Bank’s Marten still forecasts the euro will trade below parity with the dollar in 12 months. With the European Central Bank set to maintain its unprecedented program of monetary stimulus while the U.S. Federal Reserve moves toward raising rates for the first time since 2006, any gains in the euro would probably be fleeting, she said.