Dollar slips as data weighs; bitcoin retreats after hitting new high
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar edged down against a basket of currencies on Tuesday after data showed U.S. services industry growth eased and as investors braced for a busy week that includes a European Central Bank rate decision, congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. jobs data.
Bitcoin hit a record high on Tuesday before retreating sharply in a volatile session. The world's largest cryptocurrency is up nearly 50% this year, fueled by investors pouring money into U.S. spot exchange-traded crypto products and the prospect that global interest rates may fall.
Bitcoin was last down 7.04% to $62,745.23, after rising as high as $69,202.
U.S. services industry growth slowed a bit in February amid a decline in employment, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Separately, data showed new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods dropped more than expected in January.
«The ISM numbers today showed growth in the service sector slowed in February, in no small part due to a decline in employment levels, and that has raised some concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy,» said Stuart Cole, chief economist at Equiti Capital.
The dollar index, which measures the buck against six major peers, was down 0.04% to 103.8.
Most major currency pairs traded in familiar ranges.
«The G10 FX world remains incredibly subdued,» said Michael Brown, market analyst at online broker Pepperstone in London.
«There's some reluctance from most market participants to trade with conviction ahead of Powell tomorrow, ECB on Thursday, and of course NFP (nonfarm payrolls) on Friday, which is probably exacerbating the quiet conditions at the start of the week,» he said.
The dollar index,
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