NEW YORK (AP) - The dollar fell again versus the euro and most other major currencies Thursday, as mixed economic data and news of an investigation into automaker General Motors weighed on the U.S. currency.

The dollar's declines took the euro to a 20-day high, as the single currency rose across the board. The euro also set a fresh six-month high against the yen, lifting above Y140 as it continued to benefit from hawkish recent comments from the European Central Bank and better regional economic data.

The dollar's overnight losses were extended early in New York trading following a larger-than-expected fall in U.S. durable goods orders for September. The news briefly pushed the dollar below the key 115-yen mark.

Late afternoon, the euro was at $1.2169, up from $1.2071 late Wednesday, according to EBS. The dollar was at 115.33 yen compared with Y115.89, and at 1.2734 Swiss francs from 1.2824. The pound rose to $1.7848 from $1.7757, while the euro was at Y140.04 from Y139.58.

Overnight the dollar climbed above the 116-yen level to reach a fresh 25-month high at Y116.24 after Japan reported a slowdown in retail sales growth in September.

However, the dollar quickly came under pressure after GM said it received subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its pension practices, retiree benefits and certain transactions between the auto maker and former parts unit Delphi Corp. The car manufacturer also said its finance unit received subpoenas in connection with a probe regarding insurance-industry practice.

The developments pushed Treasury prices higher in a classic flight-to-quality move. As a result, the yield on Treasury notes fell, nudging the dollar down as well. Later, the news also helped push U.S. equities lower.

The dollar's downward momentum continued early in New York trading after September orders for U.S. durables fell 2.1 percent, weighed down by a 4.7 percent drop in transportation equipment orders. That was larger than the 1 percent drop economists had expected.

"The GM announcement and the durable goods number got the dollar rolling on the downside," said Andrew Busch, global markets strategist at Harris Nesbitt in Chicago.

The durable goods data outweighed the impact of better than expected weekly jobless claims, which fell by 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 328,000 in the week that ended Oct. 22. The dollar also showed only a knee-jerk positive reaction to a 2.1 percent rise in U.S. housing sales for September.

Markets will be watching Friday as the U.S. reports third-quarter gross domestic product data, as well as the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. According to a Dow Jones Newswires survey, GDP is expected to rise 3.5 percent compared with a 3.3 percent increase for the previous quarter. The Michigan reading is seen falling to 76.0 in October from 76.9 in September.

Within the GDP data, economists expected the chain weighted price index to rise 2.8 percent and the employment cost index forecast to lift 0.8 percent, suggesting rising price pressures.

The data comes ahead of next Tuesday's Federal Reserve meeting. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to lift rates by 25 basis points to 4 percent, which would be the twelfth consecutive rate hike. Rising rates have been the lynchpin to the dollar's 2005 appreciation against the euro and the yen. 2005.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar was higher Thursday, recovering after initial selling following the central bank's decision late in New York Wednesday to raise rates by 25 basis points to 7.0 percent. The currency dipped below US$0.7000 on news of the increase in the official cash rate, largely because some investors had expected an increase of 50 basis points.

However, the New Zealand currency rose steadily during overnight trading as the high yields in New Zealand attracted buying interest from Asia. It was at US$0.7065 late in New York Thursday, compared with US$0.7016 a day earlier.

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