Dollar extends losses after Bernanke testimony

By Ben Rooney, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The dollar extended losses Wednesday as investors responded to reports on retail sales and inflation, and comments from the Federal Reserve.

What prices are doing: The dollar slid 0.3% versus the euro to $1.3654 and dropped 0.6% against the U.K. pound to $1.5448. The dollar remained flat versus the Japanese yen at ¥93.20.

What's moving the market: Retail sales rose more than expected in March, while consumer prices remain tame, according to government reports.

The Commerce Department said total retail sales jumped 1.6% in March, the largest monthly increase since November, from an upwardly revised 0.5% gain in February.

Separately, the Consumer Price Index, the government's main inflation gauge, rose 2.1% in February from the previous year. Over the past 12 months, CPI has increased 2.3%, driven by a 41% climb in gasoline costs during the period.

Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was up 1.1% from a year earlier. In February, it inched 1.3% higher year over year.

In addition to economic news, traders also focused on Capitol Hill, where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before a congressional committee.

He said that while demand in the private sector will be "sufficient" to spur a moderate recovery, more time is needed to recover job losses.

Bernanke reiterated that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near historic lows.

What analysts are saying: Markets were looking for hints for when the Fed might tighten monetary policy, said analysts at Sucden Financial in a research report.

But Bernanke did not provide any new information, and just reiterated its most recent policy statement that said interest rates will remain "exceptionally low" for an "extended" period of time.

"A dovish tone would tend to keep the dollar under some selling pressure," the report said. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.