Dollar Erases Losses Versus Euro Before Retail Sales Report

By Ye Xie

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar erased an earlier loss versus the euro before a report today that is forecast to show U.S. retail sales fell.

The dollar traded at $1.3179 per euro as of 8:14 a.m. in New York, from $1.3182 yesterday, when it touched $1.3141, the strongest since Dec. 11. The dollar bought 89.38 yen from 89.38 yen. The euro traded at 117.70 yen from 117.81 yen.

U.S. retail sales fell for a sixth month in December, extending the longest run of declines since records began in 1992, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The Commerce Department will release the data at 8:30 a.m. today in Washington.

Fed surveys tomorrow from the New York and Philadelphia regions will show manufacturing contracted this month, separate Bloomberg surveys show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ye Xie in New York at yxie6@bloomberg.net.