The dollar steadied against its major rivals after seeing notable weakness over the last couple days. The buck turned higher on the sterling and leveled off against the yen and euro after falling to multi-month lows against all three in recent days.
Selling accelerated after Reuters and the University of Michigan reported that their consumer sentiment index plummeted to a reading of 66.5 in July from the final June reading of 76.0. Economists had been expecting the index to show a much more modest decrease to a reading of 74.5.
The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Jeffrey Lacker, has warned the government that it must cut its deficit or risk a Greece-style fiscal crisis. He also said consumer spending and investment will continue to drive the U.S. recovery but at a “less robust” pace than in past recoveries.
The dollar steadied after hitting its lowest level in more than two months against the euro. The pair moved near 1.2930 in the afternoon after earlier crossing 1.3000 for the first time since May 9.
The greenback edged higher against the sterling and moved off of its lowest levels in nearly three months. The buck rose to the 1.528 level in the early afternoon after falling as low as 1.5471 overnight.
The dollar also leveled off against the yen after hitting a 7 1/2 month low. The greenback fell as low as 86.47 against the Japanese currency before later bouncing back near 86.70.
