US Dollar Weakens as Trade Deficit Remains Above Forecasts

The US dollar slipped today versus the euro and the yen after the report showed that the US traded balance deficit shrank less than was predicted by analysts. Forecasts were also too optimistic about the federal budget as today’s report showed.

The US trade balance narrowed from $47.0 billion in January to $45.8 billion in February. Median forecast promised the deficit to decline to $44.1 billion. The deficit of the federal budget went from $222.5 billion in February down to $188.2 billion in March. Analysts expected the deficit to be only $163.5 billion.

The International Monetary Fund estimated that the US economy will grow 2.8 percent this year. That’s 0.2 percent below the January projection. The outlook for slower growth was supported by today’s reports and that decreased appeal of the US currency.

EUR/USD rose from 1.4434 to 1.4478 as of 23:56 GMT. USD/JPY dropped from 84.60 to 83.46 and later traded at 83.73.

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