Dollar falls on surprise drop in US retail sales

NEW YORK, Aug 14 : The dollar fell on Friday after data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly declined in July, as traders weighed Federal Reserve policy and the prospect of a Bank of Japan rate hike next month aimed at supporting the yen.Retail sales dropped 0.6 per cent last month after an unrevised 0.2 per cent gain in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, edging up 0.1 per cent.“We are clearly having signs of poor consumption,” said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. “This evidence is clearly showing that there is an economic slowdown in the United States.”Softer-than-expected consumer and producer price inflation data this week has already tempered expectations that the Fed will