The dollar rose against most currencies on Friday, bolstered by solid US economic data that further supported consensus expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at next week's monetary policy meeting. "The gains in the dollar were a positive reaction to the data," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. "The reports show that the dollar's fundamental backdrop remains strong."
US industrial production surged in February, boosted by strong increases in output at factories and mines, while a consumer sentiment survey by the University of Michigan showed a rise in the overall index for March. The dollar, however, fell to a more than one-week low against the yen, undermined by speculation that more top Trump administration officials could be replaced and concerns US trade tariffs could hurt the global economy.
These US-centric factors have rattled markets in recent days, pushing the dollar lower and leaving the yen as the main beneficiary. The dollar was down 0.2 percent at 106.15 yen after falling as low as 105.61 yen, the lowest since March 7.
The dollar index was up 0.1 percent at 90.236. It has been on the defensive for much of the week amid the shake-up inside Trump's administration and as next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting comes into focus. The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.2284, with little in the way to drive the single currency.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.