The euro touched a seven-week low against the dollar after European
Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet said economic growth will
slow, reducing expectations policy makers will raise interest rates
further.
The European single currency also declined
against the yen and the Canadian dollar as the ECB kept its main rate
at a seven-year high of 4.25 percent.
``The slowing in
the euro zone is starting to register with policy makers,'' said
Jonathan Gencher, vice president of foreign exchange sales at BMO
Capital Markets in Toronto. ``Not long ago, everyone was looking to
find a reason to sell the dollar. The market is going to start to focus
on reasons to sell the euro.''
Traders pared bets the ECB will raise the main refinancing rate for a second time this year.
The
Dollar Index on the ICE futures exchange, which tracks the dollar
against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, reached 74.477,
the highest since Feb. 27.
More Americans unexpectedly
signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes in June, a sign
that lower prices are drawing some buyers back into the market. The
index of pending home resales rose 5.3 percent after a revised 4.9
percent decline in May, the National Association of Realtors said today
in Washington. The gain is the third this year. Economists surveyed by
Bloomberg predicted a 1 percent drop.