The dollar weakened slightly against rivals on Thursday as stalled progress in talks between Greece and its creditors discouraged investors from making any big moves.
The dollar slid 0.2% against the Japanese yen to Y123.58, down for a second session. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a group of 16 widely traded currencies, inched down 0.1% to 86.37.
The dollar was steady after a large uptick in U.S. consumer spending last month and better-than-expected data in weekly jobless claims balanced against news on Greece, yet another sign that investors remain circumspect of the dollar’s near-term trajectory. On Thursday, eurozone finance ministers made little headway during their meeting on Greece, pushing the negotiations into the weekend. The Greek government seeks to secure desperately needed aid to pay back a loan to the International Monetary Fund by the end of the month.
As the deadline approaches, investors have been hesitant to hold longer positions, particularly against the euro, said Ian Gordon, currency strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“The market continues to get whipsawed by Greek headlines,” Mr. Gordon said. “Our base case is that a solution is reached. And in that scenario, it allows the market to refocus on monetary policy divergence … which we expect to weaken the euro.”
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