Dollar Weakens As Retail Sales, Import-price Index Disappoint

The U.S. dollar weakened against most of its major rivals Wednesday after a slate of weaker-than-expected economic data. Sales at U.S. retailers were flat in April. Excluding automobile sales, buying increased by a paltry 0.1%, the Commerce Department said, falling short of the 0.4% forecast. Prices paid in the U.S. for imported goods fell by 0.3%, while prices for U.S.-made exports declined by 0.7% in April. The euro broke above $1.13, its first time at that level in six days. The shared currency traded at $1.1218 Tuesday evening. The dollar declined to 119.34 yen, compared with 119.89 yen late Tuesday. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar's strength against a basket of six rivals, was down 0.04% to 94.4870.