U.S. Dollar Weakens as Government Shutdown Looms

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The U.S. dollar lost in late trading on Thursday, as the U.S. Senate forged ahead with plans for a temporary funding agreement which House Republicans are expected to oppose.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.41 percent to 106.2268 in late trading.

The U.S. Congress faces a deadline of midnight on Saturday to pass a new budget, but House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said time remained for a late agreement. “I wake up every day optimistic,” he said. “I’d say put your money on me. We will get this done.”

On the economic data front, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an unrevised 2.1 percent annualized rate last quarter, the government said on Thursday in its third estimate of GDP for the April-June period.

The U.S. Federal Reserve may be on the cusp of “something rare” by lowering inflation without a major blow to jobs and growth, and must be extra careful about relying too much on the history of past inflation fights in plotting further policy moves, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Thursday.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0553 U.S. dollars from 1.0508 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2196 U.S. dollars from 1.2137 dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 149.2380 Japanese yen, lower than 149.5950 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.9162 Swiss francs from 0.9208 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3500 Canadian dollars from 1.3510 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar slid to 10.9344 Swedish krona from 11.0471 Swedish krona. 

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