NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) — The U.S. dollar slipped in late trade Monday, as mortgage rates remained high above 7 percent and builder confidence eased in September.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.11 percent to 105.2014 in late trade.
According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Monday, homebuilder sentiment fell below the break-even measure of 50 to 45 for the first time in five months.
“The two-month decline in builder sentiment coincides with mortgage rates jumping above 7 percent and significantly eroding buyer purchasing power,” said NAHB President Alicia Huey.
Attention now shifts to the Federal Reserve’s September monetary policy decision on Wednesday. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the Fed is not expected to change short-term interest rates from their current level at the next rate announcement. Expectations for another hike later this year are roughly divided.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to US$1.0679 from US$1.0660 in the previous session, and the British pound fell to US$1.2376 from US$1.2384.
The US dollar bought 147.7270 Japanese yen, down from 147.8570 Japanese yen from the previous session. The US dollar was up to 0.8978 Swiss francs from 0.8972 Swiss francs and it fell to 1.3496 Canadian dollars from 1.3516 Canadian dollars. The US dollar fell to SEK 11.1694 from SEK 11.1821.
Source: sn.dk