US dollar slides on weaker-than-expected CPI

The US dollar dropped against its major counterparts on Wednesday after data showed October consumer price inflation was slower than expected with housing starts data for the same month also coming in at a weaker-than-expected level.

By around 9:40 ET, the dollar fell to 1.3510 versus euro from 1.3489 shortly before the data. The greenback slipped to 1.5904 per British pound from 1.5880 a few minutes ago. Against the Japanese yen, the greenback dropped to 83.28 from 83.41 just two minutes before the data was released.

Consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent in October, faster than previous month's 0.1 percent, but it was slower than 0.3 percent of market consensus. Housing starts was 519,000, below September's 588,000 and a market expectation of 600,000 for October.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are scheduled to speak at various events on Wednesday and the market is now awaiting their comments.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday had cut the value of the US dollar and the Japanese yen in SDR (Special Drawing Rights) while raising that of the euro and pound. The IMF move probably weighed on the US currency.

Lingering Euro area concerns over Ireland's sovereign debt and worries that China may take steps to further cool down a heating economy has been providing some support for the greenback so far on the day, according to traders.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart's comments that additional bond purchases by the central bank aren't intended to weaken the greenback also helped the currency until the data was published.