Euro Zone Inflation Slows Down, US Dollar Falls

JAKARTA - Inflation of the euro area shows signs of marginal slowdown. As a result, the United States (US) dollar weakened against another major currency basket at the end of trading Friday (Saturday morning WIB), August 19.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rival currencies, fell 0.18 percent to 103.3831 at the end of trading.

According to a report published by the European Union's Statistics Office on Friday (18/8) morning, the annual inflation rate of the euro region hit 5.3 percent in July, down from 5.5 percent in June. A year earlier, that figure was 8.9 percent. The EU's annual inflation was 6.1 percent in July this year, down from 6.4 percent in June. A year earlier, that figure was 9.8 percent.

The UK's National Statistics Office said Friday, August 18, that Britain's sales volume in supermarkets fell 2.6 percent in July following an increase in June, which was bigger than economists expected. The higher expectations of British interest rates in the coming months support the British pound and push the UK government's bond yields higher.

At the end of New York trading, the euro rose to $1.0878 from $1.0857 in the previous session, and the English pound rose to $1.2740 from $1.2728 in the previous session.

The US dollar was purchased at 145,2980 Japanese yen, lower than 146,0890 Japanese yen in the previous session. The US dollar rose to 0.8824 Swiss francs from 0.8797 Swiss francs, and fell to 1.3545 Canadian dollars from 1.3546 Canadian dollars. The US dollar rose to 10.9709 Swedish krona from 10.9363 Swedish krona.