November 16, 2003	Sunday	Ramazan 20, 1424

CHICAGO, Nov 15: The dollar tumbled to a three-week low against the euro on Friday after mixed data released earlier clouded the outlook for US economic recovery.

Data showed a drop in US retail sales, a bump higher in producer prices and an improvement in consumer sentiment. Those reports weakened prospects for recovery and weighed on the greenback.

People bought (dollars) in anticipation of better numbers and then bought after the numbers came out; then there was no interest to buy more, said John McCarthy, director of foreign exchange at ING Capital Markets.

US October retail sales showed a fall of 0.3 per cent, close to economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent decline.

The producer price index overshot expectations, leaping 0.8 per cent, compared with consensus forecasts for a 0.2 per cent rise. The University of Michigan’s November index of consumer sentiment rose to 93.5 from October’s 89.6.

The (Michigan) data is well above expectations, which you would think would be positive for the dollar.

But the lesson that we got a week ago from the foreign exchange market was that strong economic data doesn’t always translate into a stronger dollar, said Sean Callow, currency strategist at IDEAglobal in New York.

Low US rates have put pressure on the dollar, with global investors seeking higher-yielding currencies,

In late New York trade, the euro was up 0.37 per cent on the day at $1.1770.—Reuters