Investing.com - The dollar continued to fall on Wednesday after weak U.S. data as low government bond yields weighed on the greenback.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.48% at 93.44 by 12:10 PM ET (5:10 PM GMT).
On Wednesday the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods fell 1.2% in October and core capital goods fell by 0.5%, the largest drop in over a year. Meanwhile initial jobless claims fell last week after two weeks of increases, the Labor Department reported.
The dollar was also under pressure from low U.S. government bond yields. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields have fallen this year from the end of 2016, even as the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates three times since December.
The dollar fell against the yen, with USD/JPY decreased 0.74% to 111.62. Against the euro, the dollar was also lower, with EUR/USD rising 0.42% to 1.1787.
Sterling pushed higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.42% to 1.3297 after British Finance Minister Philip Hammond cut government growth forecasts in his annual budget statement.
Investors were looking ahead to the latest meeting minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee, which are scheduled for 2:00 PM ET (7:00 PM GMT). Investors will closely pore over the minutes for any indication as to whether or not the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the coming months, which could help strengthen the dollar.