NEW YORK, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. dollar declined on Thursday as the allure of the greenback diminished amid a slew of downbeat economic data.
U.S. retail sales in December fell 1.2 percent from the prior month, the worst drop in nine years, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The unexpected decline, which came after a downwardly revised 0.1 percent increase in November, signals a weaker economic momentum. Economists surveyed by the Bloomberg had estimated a 0.1 percent gain for December.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.15 percent at 96.9817 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1299 dollars from 1.1269 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.2801 dollars from 1.2850 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7105 dollar from 0.7094 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 110.47 Japanese yen, lower than 110.99 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar was down to 1.0047 Swiss franc from 1.0088 Swiss franc, and it increased to 1.3281 Canadian dollars from 1.3250 Canadian dollars.
