Data released on Thursday showed the world’s biggest economy reported its worst contraction since 1946 in 2020, as the pandemic hardly hit the U.S. economy. 

The U.S. reported a contraction of 3.5% last year, following a growth of 2.2% in 2019. In the fourth quarter, the economy expanded 4%, coming below forecasts of 4.2%, compared to a record growth of 33.4% in the third quarter. 

“The increase in fourth quarter GDP reflected both the continued economic recovery from the sharp declines earlier in the year and the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including new restrictions and closures that took effect in some areas of the United States,” the Commerce Department said. 

As of 14:20 GMT, the dollar index reversed its earlier gains, falling from a high of 90.83 to trade at 90.55 after the dull economic data.