Investing.com - The dollar held gains against a basket of other major currencies in quiet trade on Friday, as growing expectations for a U.S. rate hike by the middle of the year continued to lend broad support to the greenback.
The dollar remained supported after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Wednesday that the timing of a rate hike depends on economic data and added that a rate hike in June could still be possible if the labor market recovery remained strong.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed that several officials believe the economic outlook is likely to warrant an interest rate hike in June.
The greenback was also boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose less-than-expected.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.59% to 99.84.
EUR/USD dropped 0.60% to three-week lows of 1.0596, even as data earlier showed that French industrial production was flat in February, confounding expectations for a 0.1% downtick. January's figure was revised to a 0.3% rise from a previously estimated increase of 0.4%.
A separate report showed that Spain's industrial production increased at an annualized rate of 0.6% in February after a 0.1% gain in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.4% rise.
The pound was also lower, with GBP/USD sliding 0.72% to 1.4605.
In a report, the Office for National Statistics said that U.K. manufacturing production rose 0.4% in February, in line with expectations. On a yearly basis, U.K. manufacturing production rose 1.1% in February, disappointing expectations for a 1.3% gain.
The report also showed that U.K. industrial production rose 0.1% in February, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase. Year-on-year, U.K. industrial production ticked up 0.1% in February, less than the expected 0.4% rise.
Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY shedding 0.23% to 120.30 but higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.34% to 0.9808.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained weaker, with AUD/USD sliding 0.46% to 0.7656 and NZD/USD retreating 0.49% to 0.7529.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.30% to trade at 1.2615 after data showed that the number of employed people in Canada rose by 28.700 last month, exceeding expectations for a decline of 100 and after a 1,000 drop in February.
The report also showed that Canada's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8% in March, in line with expectations.
Another report showed that Canadian housing starts rose by 189,700 units last month, beating expectations for an increase of 175,000. February's figure was revised to a 151,200 increase from a previously estimated 156,300 gain.