The dollar slipped to its low for the week against the euro today as dealers waited for US retail sales data to assess the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
Fresh currency comments by US Treasury Secretary John Snow added to selling pressure on the dollar after he said the fall in the dollar - down 12 per cent against the euro this year - was an orderly adjustment and no cause for alarm.
But the immediate reaction to Mr Snow's remarks was muted as he has made similar comments in the past, and the market was more concerned to calibrate whether, and by how much, the Fed would cut interest rates later this month.
The US currency fell over a third of a percentage point to $1.1805 per euro in early European trade, moving closer to record lows beyond $1.19 hit last month. It was also slightly weaker against the Japanese currency, at 117.60 yen .
A US Commerce Department report is expected to show US retail sales were flat in May after slipping 0.1 per cent in April.
In its "Beige book" report yesterday, the Federal Reserve said the end of the Iraq war provided some boost to US business but not enough to lift the economy out of its doldrums.