Summary Dollar dipped slightly as report showed a plunge in US durable goods orders in March.
NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar dipped slightly against most other major currencies Wednesday after a government report showed a plunge in US durable goods orders in March.
The euro edged up to $1.3013 around 2200 GMT, from $1.2997 at the same time Tuesday, benefiting from a poor German confidence survey that had traders betting on further easing by the European Central Bank.
The dollar gained a little ground against the Japanese currency, rising to 99.51 yen from 99.48 yen late Tuesday, while the euro bought 129.50 yen, up from 129.30.
"It was a fairly quiet trading session but there was a slight weakness in the US dollar, which fell not only against the euro, but also against the Canadian dollar, the Australian dollar and the pound," said Charles St-Arnaud of Nomura.
US durable goods orders plunged 5.7 percent from February, the Commerce Department reported, the latest March data showing weakness in the world's largest economy.
"The numbers on durable-goods orders were very weak this morning. Even though the decline came mainly from plunges in orders for civilian aircraft and the military, they cast a bit of a cloud over the outlook for the American economy," he said.
Across the Atlantic, German business confidence took a bigger-than-expected tumble this month. The Ifo economic institute's closely watched business climate index fell to 104.4 points in April from 106.7 points in March.
Gekko Markets trader Anita Paluch said that "bad numbers may be conducive enough for ECB to take some action and provide more liquidity in the light of those economic headwinds."
The ECB is set to hold a monetary policy meeting on May 2.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to the Bank of Japan policy meeting on Friday, the first since the central bank's massive easing
"Don't expect a big (dollar-yen) sell-off however, as the BoJ rate decision, comments for central bank governor Kuroda and the release of their semi-annual outlook report on Friday poses upside risk" for the dollar against the yen, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.
The pound fetched $1.5267, up from $1.5238 late Tuesday.
The dollar gained against the Swiss currency, to 0.9472 francs, compared with 0.9451 a day earlier.
