Investing.com - The dollar firmed against most major currencies on Friday after data revealed the U.S. economy grew at a healthy pace in the second quarter of this year, which fueled already growing expectations that rate hikes will come sooner than later in 2015.
In U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was down 0.57% at 1.2677.
The dollar advanced after the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter, in line with the consensus forecast, after contracting by 2.1% in the first three months of the year.
U.S. second quarter GDP was initially reported to have increased by 4.2%.
The positive data fueled already growing expectations for rate hikes to kick in earlier next year than once anticipated.
On Thursday, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said that the U.S. central bank may start raising interest rates around the spring of 2015, earlier than many market expectations.
Separately, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final consumer sentiment index remained unchanged at 84.6 this month, just shy of expectations for an uptick to 84.7.
The euro, meanwhile, continued to come under pressure after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated on Thursday the bank's commitment to act with more policy measures to boost inflation in the euro zone.
A day earlier, Mario Draghi had already vowed to keep monetary policy "accommodative" for as long as needed, and to use every tool at the ECB's disposal to fight deflation.
Elsewhere on Friday, data revealed that the Gfk German consumer climate index ticked down to 8.3 this month from 8.6 in August. Analysts had expected the index to slip to 8.5, and the weaker-than-expected figure softened the single currency alongside robust U.S. data.
The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.51% at 109.29, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.52% at 0.9516.
The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.43% at 1.6246.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.44% at 1.1157, AUD/USD down 0.25% at 0.8766 and NZD/USD down 0.71% at 0.7869.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.52% at 85.78.