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Dollar index slips lower, U.S. data on tap

Published 07/31/2015, 05:51 AM
Updated 07/31/2015, 05:51 AM
© Reuters.  Dollar edges lower vs. rivals but remains supported

Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against the other major currencies on Friday, as markets eyed upcoming data on U.S. consumer sentiment, although demand for the greenback remained supported by the previous session's second quarter U.S. growth report.

The greenback strengthened after the Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 2.3% in the three months to June. First quarter growth was revised up to 0.6% from a previously reported contraction of 0.2%.

Although economists had forecast growth of 2.6% the report still indicated that the economy is on a solid footing.

The data came after the Federal Reserve said in its rate statement on Wednesday that the economy and the labor market had continued to strengthen, reinforcing expectations for an initial rate hike at its September meeting.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.19% at 97.44, not far from Thursday's one-week high of 97.89.

EUR/USD rose 0.31% to 1.0966, off the previous session's one-week lows of 1.0892.

The single currency found some support after data showed that the euro zone's consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in July, in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous montth.

Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs, increased by 1.0% this month, above expectations for an uptick of 0.8%.

A separate report showed that the euro zone's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11.1% last month, in line with expectations.

The dollar edged higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.09% to 124.25, after hitting one-and-a-half month highs of 124.58 on Thursday.

In Japan, data earlier showed that household spending dropped 3.0% in June, confounding expectations for a 0.5% downtick, after a 2.4% increase the previous month.

Data also showed that consumer prices in Tokyo rose 0.2% this month, in line with market expectations.

The dollar pulled back from Thursday's three-month highs of 0.9726 against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.72% to 0.9625, but gained ground against the pound, with GBP/USD shedding 0.22% to 1.5608.

The commodity linked currencies were broadly lower, with AUD/USD declining 0.52% to 0.7255, not far from Tuesday’s six year lows of 0.7256, while NZD/USD dropped 0.89% to 0.6545. USD/CAD gained 0.38% to 1.3052.

Data on Friday showed that the ANZ Business Confidence Index for New Zealand fell to minus 15.3 in July from minus 2.3 the previous month.

In Australia, data showed that producer prices rose 0.3% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.6% gain, after an uptick of 0.5% in the three months to March.

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