US dollar weakens on home sales data

With pending home sales down by 12.2 percent in July in the United States, substantially below the 2.2 percent decline that had been anticipated, the US dollar was lower on Wednesday, while the Japanese yen strengthened on risk aversion brought on by another decline in equities markets.

The greenback lost 1.2 percent to $2.0160 against sterling in midday trade in New York, while it fell 0.3 percent to $1.3640 versus the euro and dropped 1 percent to ¥115.20 in relation to the yen.

North of the border, however, the Canadian dollar fell 0.4 percent to C$1.0530 versus the US dollar after the Bank of Canada held interest rates steady at 4.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the yen had added 0.7 percent to ¥157.10 in relation to the euro and was 0.8 percent higher to ¥232.27 versus sterling, while it had added 1 percent to ¥94.85 against the Australian dollar and was up 2.1 percent to ¥79.20 in relation to the New Zealand dollar.

Story link: US dollar weakens on home sales data