Investing.com - The dollar slid to five-week lows against a basket of the other major currencies on Thursday amid concerns over sluggish U.S. inflation as trade volumes remained thin with U.S. markets staying closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.12% to 93.04 by 08:20 AM ET (13.20 GMT), the weakest level since October 19.
The dollar remained on the defensive after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s November meeting showed that some officials were concerned inflation would stay below the bank's 2% target for longer than expected.
The minutes echoed comments by Fed Chair Janet Yellen earlier in the week that she was uncertain about the inflation outlook.
While a rate hike in December is still almost fully priced in, investors pared back expectations for further rate hikes in 2018, sending the dollar lower.
The dollar was at two-month lows against the yen, with USD/JPY last at 111.24 after going as low as 111.07 overnight.
The euro pushed higher, with EUR/USD rising 0.21% to 1.1845, moving closer to the one-month high of 1.1859 reached last week.
In the euro zone, data on Thursday showed that private sector output rose at the fastest pace in six-and-a-half years in November, with companies reporting a surge in output and hiring.
Separately, the minutes of the European Central Bank’s October meeting showed that policymakers agreed about a decision to extend the duration of its asset purchase program, but were far from unanimous in keeping the scheme open-ended.
That indicated that any further extension of the asset purchase program could run into opposition.
Meanwhile, sterling was little changed against the dollar, with GBP/USD at 1.3355 after data confirmed that the UK economy grew 0.4% in the third quarter, but remained reliant on household spending despite a squeeze on household finances.