Dollar Falls as Minutes Show Fed Wants More Job Progress

The dollar declined versus most of its major peers after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said inflation and unemployment rates show the U.S. economy still requires very accommodative monetary stimulus.

The Dollar Index tumbled before a report today that may show continuing jobless claims rose. That underscores views expressed in minutes of the Fed’s last meeting released yesterday, which showed many policy makers want to see more signs that employment is picking up before they’ll begin slowing bond purchases. The yen weakened against the euro ahead of a policy decision today by the Bank of Japan.

The dollar slid 0.9 percent to $1.3088 per euro at 9:56 a.m. Tokyo time after earlier touching $1.3207, the weakest since June 21. It reached 98.27 yen, the least since June 27, before trading at 99.58 yen, 0.1 percent lower than yesterday. Japan’s currency lost 0.8 percent to 130.32 per euro.

The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback versus currencies of six major U.S. trade partners including the euro and yen, fell 1.3 percent to 82.923 after earlier dropping to 82.686, the lowest since June 26.

(Source: Bloomberg)