NEW YORK, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar weakened as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge cooled off last month and consumers reined in some spending as the economy slowed.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.42 percent to 102.9125 in late trading.
The Fed's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, rose 3.8 percent in May from a year earlier, at its lowest annual growth level since April 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Friday.
The so-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy categories, expanded 4.6 percent in May from a year earlier, down slightly from 4.7 percent in April. Personal spending ticked up by just 0.1 percent, a more moderate pace than April's 0.6 percent growth rate. When adjusting for inflation, consumer spending was flat.
"We are still seeing spending grow, it's gradually losing momentum rather than falling out of bed," said Shannon Seery, economist with Wells Fargo. She pointed to the strong labor market and robust household balance sheets, adding "this is really just a stalling at a very elevated level."
The consumer sentiment index released by the University of Michigan (UM) Surveys of Consumers rose to 64.4 in June, up from 59.2 in May and 50.0 in the same period of last year.
In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0911 U.S. dollars from 1.0867 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2693 U.S. dollars from 1.2613 dollars in the previous session.
The U.S. dollar bought 144.2930 Japanese yen, lower than 144.8870 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.8951 Swiss franc from 0.8999 Swiss franc, and it was down to 1.3239 Canadian dollars from 1.3243 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar decreased to 10.7869 Swedish Krona from 10.8615 Swedish Krona. ■