LONDON, Dec 24: The dollar dipped against the euro on Wednesday in lacklustre pre-holiday trading, weighed down by new data underlining weaknesses in the US economy.

The single European currency in late-day trade was at $1.3991 after $1.3924 late Tuesday in New York.

The dollar was meanwhile trading at 90.52 yen, down from 90.96 on Tuesday.

The US currency came under selling pressure on news that US incomes and spending contracted in November as recession took a heavy toll.

The United States is facing prolonged recession after a housing mortgage crisis sparked financial turmoil across the globe and caused a severe economic downturn.

The Labour Department said separately Wednesday that new US weekly jobless claims rose by 30,000 over the past week to 586,000, in another sign of a weak employment picture.—AFP