Investing.com - The dollar fell to five-week lows against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday after the final reading of U.S. first quarter growth was revised sharply lower.
The drop in the dollar came after the Commerce Department said gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year, compared to the consensus forecast for a decline of 1.7%.
U.S. first quarter GDP was initially reported to have increased by 0.1%, but was subsequently revised to show a contraction of 1.0%.
The difference between the second and third estimate was the largest since records began in 1976, the Commerce Department said.
The data showed personal consumption grew 1.0% in the three months to March, below expectations for a 2.4% increase and down from an initial estimate of 3.5%. Consumer spending typically accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic growth.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell 1.0% in May, while core durable goods orders fell 0.1%. Market expectations had been for an increase of 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
The euro rose to more than two-week high, with EUR/USD advancing 0.29% to 1.3645, from around 1.3609 before the release of the data.
The dollar fell to almost two-week lows against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.28% to 101.65.
The pound rebounded against the dollar, with GBP/USD edging up 0.08% to 1.6999, off lows of 1.6952.
Sterling was weaker against the dollar earlier in the session as expectations for a U.K. rate hike this year cooled after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney indicated that recent weak wage growth could prompt the bank to keep rates on hold for longer.
Meanwhile, USD/CHF was down 0.28% to 0.8912.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars climbed to session highs, with AUD/USD adding 0.25% to trade at 0.9391 and NZD/USD rising 0.63% to 0.8726.
USD/CAD was down 0.20% to 1.0722, not far from the five-and-a-half month low of 1.0715 set in the previous session.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.28% to 80.17, the weakest since May 22.