The euro fell against the dollar on Tuesday and hit fresh four-month low as Greece failed to form new government in the final talks.

Greece failed to establish a coalition government nine days after the parliamentary elections. A new vote was expected to happen next month. Investors feared the political uncertainties could hurt the creditability of the euro. The euro retreated to 1. 2734 dollars from 1.2847 dollars, hitting new low in four months.

And Concerns over China' s economic slowdown kept reducing market interest in riskier currencies and forced capital into safe havens of dollar and Japanese yen.

On the U.S. economic front, retail sales slowed sharply down in April, growing only 0.1 percent compared to growing 0.7 percent in March. The consumer price index remained unchanged in April after a 0.3 percent rise in the previous month.

The dollar index, which tracks dollar's performance against a basket of currencies, rose for the record 12th straight session.

In late Tuesday trading, the dollar rose to 1.0047 Canadian dollars from 1.0027, and gained to 0.9432 Swiss francs from 0.9351.

The dollar bought 80.27 Japanese yen, higher than 79.86 in the previous session. The British pound fell to 1.6003 dollars from 1. 6105.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet