Dollar Falls as Stronger Economic Data

The dollar dropped against the majority of its most-traded counterparts as U.S. economic data showed a quickening recovery and European funding stress eased, damping demand for the safety of the U.S. currency.

The 17-nation euro rallied from an 11-month low against the dollar as Spain sold more than its maximum target at a debt auction and a report showed European manufacturing and service industries contracted less this month than economists forecast. The Swiss franc advanced after the central bank refrained from introducing additional measures to weaken the currency. The Brazilian real and the Australian dollar strengthened on improved demand for higher-returning assets.

“With the Spanish bond auction, yields are still high, but when you’re able to sell all the bonds that they wanted to, that’s a good sign,” said John Doyle, a strategist in Washington at currency-trading firm Tempus Consulting Inc. “We followed up with fairly decent numbers here in the U.S. and it has kept with the narrative of a slightly risk-on kind of day.”

The dollar fell 0.3 percent to $1.3020 per euro at 2:06 p.m. in New York, after falling as much as 0.5 percent. Yesterday it reached $1.2946, the strongest level since Jan. 11. The greenback fell 0.3 percent to 77.86 yen. The European currency was little changed at 101.38 yen.