Euro heads for second weekly loss against dollar

Euro fell in American trade against the dollar to March 2 lows, following earlier data from the euro zone and the US, the world's largest economy. 

As of 03:06 GMT, EUR/USD fell 0.34% to 1.2263 from the opening of 1.2305, with a two-week low at 1.2260, and a session-high at 1.2336. 

Earlier German data showed wholesale prices fell 0.3% in February, compared to a 0.9% rise in January, and missing expectations of a 0.2% rise, while consumer prices for the whole zone slowed down to 1.1% from 1.3% in January, missing expectations of 1.2%, while core prices rose 1%. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called in earlier remarks for a solution to the problem of US tariffs through negotiations if possible, describing US tariffs as contradictory to the World Trade Organization's treaties. 

Otherwise, European Central Bank member Peter Bright pointed to improvements in inflation while expecting the ECB to carry on its path gradually, noting that the euro zone's economic growth could be better than actually reported. 

Otherwise, earlier US data showed housing starts fell 7% in February to 1.236 million units, compared to January's 9.7% rise to 1.329 million, while analysts expected a 2.7% drop to 1.290 million. 

Building permits fell 5.7% to 1.298 million, compared to a 7.4% rise to 1.396 million in January, missing expectations of a 3.8% drop to 1.325 million, while industrial production rose 1.1% in February, compared to a 0.3% dip in February, revised from a 0.1% fall, while analysts expected a 0.3% rise. 

The Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 78.1% in February from 77.4% in January, revised from 77.5%, beating forecasts of 77.7%. 

University of Michigan released its survey on consumer confidence, showing a rise to 102.0 in March from 99.7 in February, beating expectations of 99.2.