Investing.com - The dollar fell to fresh nine-month lows against the other major currencies on Friday, as downbeat U.S. consumer sentiment data weighed further on the greenback after a batch of tepid reports were released earlier in the session.
USD/JPY was down 0.68% at one-and-a-half year low of 107.37.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index fell to 89.0 in April from 89.7 the previous month, disappointing expectations for a rise to 90.0.
The data came after the U.S. Commerce Department said personal spending increased by 0.1% last month, worse than expectations for a 0.2% increase.
Personal income, meanwhile, rose 0.4% in March, above forecasts for a 0.3% gain.
Meanwhile, the yen remained broadly supported after the BoJ chose on Thursday to hold its monetary policy, defying market expectations for additional monetary easing.
The decision came a day after the Fed left interest rates unchanged close to zero and offered little guidance on future rate hikes.
EUR/USD gained 0.77% to 1.1439, the highest since April 12.
Eurostat reported on Friday that the euro area’s gross domestic product rose 0.6% in the first quarter, up from 0.3% in the three months to December and beating expectations for a growth rate of 0.4%.
Year-on-year, the bloc’s GDP rose 1.6% in the first quarter, exceeding expectations for an expansion of 1.4% and unchanged from the previous quarter.
A separate report showed that euro zone consumer price inflation fell by 0.2% this month, worse than expectations for a 0.1% decline, and following a final reading of 0.0% in March.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs increased by 0.8% in April, below forecasts for 0.9% and down from 1.0% a month earlier.
The dollar was lower against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD up 0.12% at 1.4629 and with USD/CHF dropping 0.67% to 0.9601.
In the U.K., official data showed that net lending to individuals rose by £9.3 billion in March, beating expectations for an increase of £5.0 billion.
Data also showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose by 71,360 last month, compared to expectations for an increase of 74,500.
Meanwhile, the KOF economic barometer for Switzerland ticked down to 102.7 in April from an upwardly revised reading of 102.8 in March, data showed.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7623, while NZD/USD rose 0.32% to 0.6984.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD slid 0.40% to a fresh nine-month low of 1.2506 after data showed that Canada’s GDP fell 0.1% in February, in line with expectations and after 0.6% rise the previous month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.63% at 93.14, the lowest since August 2015.