NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar touched a fresh record low against the euro and dropped against other major currencies Friday, after a government report showed retail sales fell much more than forecast last month, heightening concerns over the state of the U.S. economy.
The dollar finished the week down over 1% against the euro and the yen on rising speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. The U.S. currency has come under heavy selling pressure since Tuesday after Wall Street's two largest rating agencies signaled that problems in the subprime mortgage market aren't going away and will probably get worse.
"The 0.9% fall in June retail sales is significantly worse than expected and has sparked new U.S. dollar sales," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.
Late in New York, the euro stood at $1.3788, compared with $1.3781 late Thursday, after touching an intra-session high of $1.3813. The dollar was quoted at 122.03 yen, compared with 122.47 yen.
The British pound was quoted at $2.0332, compared with $2.0295. It had earlier risen to $2.0365, matching a 26-year high it reached in the previous session. The dollar changed hands at 1.2027 Swiss francs, compared with 1.2038 francs.
Source: forex.com
