Investing.com - The dollar remained higher against the other major currencies on Friday, despite the release of tepid U.S. personal spending data as investors were still eyeing additional economic reports due later in the day.
The U.S. Commerce Department said personal spending was unchanged in August from the prior month, below expectations for a 0.1% rise, and compared to a 0.4% gain in July.
Investors were still awaiting the release of U.S. consumer sentiment data, as well as report on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area for further indications on the strength of the economy.
EUR/USD slid 0.48% to 1.1166.
Official data on Friday showed that the euro zone’s consumer price inflation rose by a 0.4% this month, in line with forecasts and following a final reading of a 0.2% advance in August.
Core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco costs, increased by 0.8% in September, compared to expectations for a 0.9% gain and the previous month’s 0.8% increase.
The report came shortly after data showed that German retail sales fell 0.4% in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.3% slip.
USD/JPY added 0.17% to 101.20, after hitting a one-week high of 101.86 on Thursday.
In Japan, data earlier showed that household spending dropped 3.7% in August, confounding expectations for a 1.0% decline.
Another report showed that Tokyo’s core CPI, excluding fresh food, slipped by an annualized rate 0.5%, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% fall.
The pound was steady, with GBP/USD at 1.2960, not far from last week’s one-month low of 1.2912, while USD/CHF climbed 0.78% to 0.9735.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Friday that gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the second quarter, up from a previous estimate of 0.6% and compared to expectations for 0.6%.
However, on an annual basis, U.K. GDP increased 2.1% in the second quarter, up from a previous estimate of 1.9% but below expectations for a growth rate of 2.2%.
A separate report showed that the U.K. current account deficit widened only to £28.7 billion in the last quarter from £27.0 billion in the first quarter. Analysts had expected the deficit to widen to £30.5 billion in the second quarter.
The Australian dollar was little changed, with AUD/USD at 0.7630, while NZD/USD rose 0.22% to 0.7271.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD slipped 0.19% to trade at 1.3120 after Statistics Canada said the country’s GDP rose 0.5% in July, exceeding expectations for a 0.3% uptick and following a growth rate of 0.6% the previous month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.34% at 95.75, the highest since September 21.