Economic Uncertainty Hits Dollar

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies amid continuing uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy Tuesday. Gold prices also were mixed.

“There were no logical moves that had any impact,” said Robert Ryan, senior trader at Irving Trust. “The key question is which way the economy is going.”

In Europe, traders pondered conflicting signals about the strength of the U.S. economy from Washington.

The government announced that retail sales rose 0.4% in July. This seemed to help the dollar because many currency dealers had expected a small decline.

But the government also said retail sales fell 1.4% in June, a revision of an earlier report showing June sales down by only 0.8%. The revision hurt the dollar, the dealers said.

The Republic National Bank quoted gold at 4 p.m. EDT down $1 to $326 an ounce.