U.S. Dollar Falls Amid US-China Tensions, Soft Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar dropped against its major counterparts in the New York session on Thursday amid rising US-China tensions and softer-than-expected inflation data for March.

Data from the Labor Department unexpectedly showed a slight decrease by consumer prices in the U.S. in the month of March.

The report said the consumer price index edged down by 0.1 percent in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected consumer prices to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index crept up by 0.1 in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. Core prices were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 2.4 in March from 2.8 percent in February. Economists had expected the pace of price growth to slow to 2.6 percent.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth also fell to 2.8 percent in March from 3.1 percent in February. Core price growth was expected to dip to 3.0 percent.

U.S.-China trade war deepened as Trump excluded the country out of the pause and even raised the tariff on Chinese goods to 125 percent.

The greenback fell to a 6-day low of 1.2995 against the pound, 13-1/2-year low of 0.8249 against the franc and near a 2-year low of 1.1241 against the euro. The currency is seen finding support around 1.31 against the pound, 0.79 against the franc and 1.14 against the euro.

The greenback dropped to a 4-1/2-month low of 1.3951 against the loonie and 6-day lows of 0.6248 against the aussie and 0.5756 against the kiwi. The currency is likely to locate support around 1.37 against the loonie, 0.65 against the aussie and 0.60 against the kiwi.

The greenback edged down to 144.00 against the yen. If the currency falls further, it is likely to test support around the 140.00 region.