* Weak U.S. retail sales cast gloom over economy
* Norwegian crown dips vs dollar
* Sterling rides roller coaster of Brexit deal hopes
(Updates to U.S. afternoon)
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell across the
board on Wednesday as dismal U.S. retail sales data painted a
gloomy picture of the economy and supported the case for further
interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the U.S. currency
against six major currencies, was down 0.30% at 97.998.
U.S. retail sales fell for the first time in seven months in
September, suggesting that manufacturing-led weakness could be
spreading to the broader economy. "The U.S. economy is indeed revealing further weaknesses,
justifying another rate cut by the Fed," said Marc-André
Fongern, a strategist at MAF Global Forex in Frankfurt.
With two weeks to go until their next policy meeting, U.S.
central bankers remain divided about the need to cut borrowing
costs for a third time this year.
"Overall, the retail sales figures support our view that
economic growth is slowing," Michael Pearce, senior U.S.
economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
The dollar's losses were most pronounced against other
safe-haven currencies such as the yen and the Swiss franc.
Against the yen, the greenback fell 0.1%, while it slipped
0.39% against the Swiss franc.
Lingering worries about trade tensions between the United
States and China have kept investors' risk appetite in check.
Reports of a partial trade deal between the world's two
largest economies last week initially cheered markets, but a
lack of details on the agreement has since curbed any
enthusiasm.
"A significant depreciation of the U.S. dollar would only be
conceivable in the event of a credible partial deal between the
United States and China," Fongern said.
Increased trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have
generally been supportive of the dollar as investors view the
United States to be in better shape than its rivals to weather a
trade war.
China's onshore spot yuan CNY=CFXS ended the domestic
session at 7.1030 per dollar, the weakest such close since Oct.
10, after Beijing criticized new U.S. legislation backing
pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Elsewhere, the Norwegian crown NOK= weakened to its lowest
since July 2001 at 9.119 per dollar. Norway, a major exporter of
oil, is particularly sensitive to economic tensions.
Sterling swung around five-month highs amid a blizzard of
contradictory headlines about whether Britain and the European
Union were on the verge of agreeing a Brexit deal. A Brexit deal looked close at hand but Prime Minister Boris
Johnson still has work to do at home to ensure his government
and factious parliament approve the plan. The pound was last up 0.34% against the greenback.
Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>