Forex View: U.S. Data Point To Sliding Dollar
Fresh worries over a slowing U.S. economy could give the euro an additional near-term boost as concerns over the euro zone's sovereign-debt crisis ease.</br></br>Disappointing U.S. data -- especially in the housing, labor and consumer sectors -- have fanned fears the U.S. economy could slow appreciably in the second half. Some openly fear a double-dip recession, a possibility many analysts see as unlikely but still has led investors out of the dollar.</br></br>The U.S. fears have moved front and center just as well-received government debt auctions and bank-stress tests in Europe have fueled positive sentiment toward the euro.</br></br>"Everyone's ready for a potential weaker half of the year for the U.S. economy," said Robert Tull, vice president and managing director of foreign exchange and commodity derivatives at Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati.</br></br>The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, fell to a three-month low Friday. The euro on Thursday moved above $1.31 to its highest point in nearly 12 weeks, after rising more than 10% on the dollar since the June 7 low of $1.1876.