Investing.com - The dollar continued to hover at seven-week highs against the other major currencies on Friday, as renewed expectations for a U.S. rate hike as soon as next month continued to support demand for the greenback.
USD/JPY rose 0.28% to 110.26, just below the previous session’s three-and-a-half week high of 110.37.
The dollar remained broadly supported after the Fed’s April meeting minutes on Wednesday showed that officials said a June rate hike would be appropriate if economic data indicated that growth was picking up in the second quarter and employment and inflation were firming.
In addition, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Thursday that the U.S. economy could be strong enough to warrant a rate hike in June or July.
EUR/USD edged up 0.14% to 1.1217, but remained close to Thursday’s seven-week low of 1.1180.
The dollar was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.35% at 1.4560 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9910.
The Australian dollar was little changed, with AUD/USD at 0.7228, while NZD/USD added 0.21% to 0.6756.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD edged up 0.14% to 1.3111, near the previous session’s six-week highs of 1.3155.
The commodity currencies found some support as oil prices moved slightly higher on Friday, as turmoil in Nigeria weighed on the country’s production and as Libyan output also continued to be hit by internal conflict.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 95.31, just off Thursday’s seven-week peak of 95.51.