NEW YORK, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar slided on Friday after euro area inflation showed marginal signs of slowing.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.18 percent to 103.3831 in late trading.
According to a report published by the statistical office of the European Union early Friday, the euro area annual inflation rate was 5.3 percent in July, down from 5.5 percent in June. A year earlier, the rate was 8.9 percent. European Union annual inflation was 6.1 percent in July this year, down from 6.4 percent in June. A year earlier, the rate was 9.8 percent.
The British Office for National Statistics said Friday that British sales volumes at supermarkets fell 2.6 percent in July after a rise in June, which was more than economists expected. The expectation of higher British rates in the coming months is underpinning the British pound and is driving British government bond yields ever higher.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0878 U.S. dollars from 1.0857 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2740 U.S. dollars from 1.2728 dollars in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar bought 145.2980 Japanese yen, lower than 146.0890 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.8824 Swiss francs from 0.8797 Swiss francs, and it decreased to 1.3545 Canadian dollars from 1.3546 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was up to 10.9709 Swedish krona from 10.9363 Swedish krona.
