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NEW YORK: The US dollar traded mixed on Monday, falling against the euro but firming on the yen as markets braced for what was expected to be a weak report on US retail sales that highlights a sputtering economy.
The euro climbed to 1.5542 dollars at 2100 GMT against 1.5481 late Friday in New York.
The dollar was meanwhile trading at 103.83 yen, up from 102.82 on Friday.
Terri Belkas, analyst at Forex Capital Markets, said traders were looking to Tuesday's data on retail sales expected to show a drop in April, highlighting woes for the US consumer.
"Given the current economic scenario, this figure could prove to be even more disappointing," Belkas said.
"Indeed, consumer confidence is rapidly deteriorating and energy prices continue to skyrocket."
Belkas said it is possible the figure on retail sales will be positive, but only due to the higher costs of gasoline: "While this would not necessarily signal that consumption is on track to keep the US economy afloat, the pure positive surprise factor would be enough to spark bullish (dollar) sentiment in the markets."
The US currency had been gaining ground against the euro during the day on Monday until the market received news of a speech given in Milan by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet highlighting inflation concerns. This dashed hopes of any quick rate cut by the ECB.
"Here, I am thinking of upward pressure from commodity prices that derived from strong growth of commodity imports by emerging markets -- both concerning energy and, more recently, food," Trichet said.
Under these circumstances, he added, "the strong relative price movements associated with globalisation make a firm focus on price stability as essential as ever."
Analyst Ashraf Laidi at CMC Markets said the US currency would probably be unable to sustain a climb against the euro until eurozone economic data turned sharply weaker, forcing the ECB to consider rate cuts.
"We do not anticipate stronger than expected US data alone can trigger any prolonged euro selling due to the continued mixed signals emitted from the broader US reports and the unambiguously hawkish ECB stance confirmed at last week's press conference," he said, referring to remarks last Thursday by Trichet after the bank again left its principal rates unchanged.
In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.0434 Swiss francs after 1.0412 on Friday.
The pound was at 1.9576 dollars from 1.9529. - AFP/de
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