The dollar slightly drops after US retail sales data

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Tuesday after April’s retail sales data fell below expectations, supporting expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on interest rate hikes in June.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.08% to 102.35 at 4:03 p.m. Moscow time.

US retail sales rose 0.4% in April from the previous month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Analysts expected an increase of 0.8%.

However, underlying sales performance was strong, indicating that consumer spending is likely to show healthy growth in the second quarter.

Excluding the auto sector, US retail sales rose 0.4% m/m, in line with analysts’ forecasts.

According to the Atlanta Fed, US GDP will increase by 2.7% in April-June.

The Australian fell 0.34% to $0.6675. The New Zealand dollar traded around $0.6242.

The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0883. Sterling fell 0.09% to $1.2516. The Japanese yen was flat near 136.12 yen to the dollar.

The Turkish lira fell 0.3% to 19.71 to the dollar.

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