The dollar, on Friday, March 17, hit five-week lows against its peers, in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s cautious message this week on the outlook for interest rate hikes.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, fell 0.2 percent to 100.29 after touching 100.16, its lowest level since Feb. 9.
It was down more than 1 percent overall for the week and as much as 1.5 percent since the Fed hiked rates on Wednesday.
Although the U.S. central bank delivered an interest rate increase on Wednesday as anticipated, it did not alter its earlier forecast for a total of three rate increases this year.
That disappointed dollar bulls who had hoped for hints of a possible fourth hike in 2017 and for more aggressive forecasts for next year, and sparked the dollar’s weakest three days since last August.
“The dollar has been on the defensive since the Fed meeting,” said Valentin Marinov, head of FX strategy at Credit Agricole in London.
In a morning of choppy trade, the recently resurgent euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.0779. Against the yen, the dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 113.37, still down 1.2 percent for the week.
Dealers in Japan said the yen could face pressure from a domestic scandal involving a land deal that is chipping away at the government’s support ratings. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has so far denied first-hand involvement.
