Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the other major currencies on Friday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. manufacturing data later in the day and as uncertainty following the U.K. Brexit vote still lingered.
GBP/USD slipped 0.11% to 1.3295, off the 31-year low of 1.3122 set on Monday, a level not seen since 1985. The two-day selloff in sterling seen last Friday and Monday was the largest in recent history.
The pound was still recovering from the sharp losses posted after Britain’s shock decision last week to leave the European Union.
Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, indicated on Thursday that more stimulus may be needed over the summer, sparking expectations for an upcoming rate cut.
Investors shrugged off a report releases earlier by research group Markit saying that its U.K. manufacturing purchasing manager’s index rose to 52.1 last month from a reading of 50.1 in May. That was its highest level since January 2016.
Analysts had expected the index to drop back into contraction at 49.9 in May.
Meanwhile, demand for the safe-haven yen strengthened after downbeat Chinese manufacturing data sparked fresh concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
USD/JPY declined 0.60% at 102.60, while USD/CHF held steady at 0.9760.
Data on Friday showed that China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI fell to 48.6 in June from 49.2 the previous month, compared to expectations for a downtick to 49.1.
At the same time, China’s official manufacturing PMI came in at 50.0 last month from 50.1 in May, in line with expectations.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1105, while EUR/GBP rose 0.22% to 0.8353.
Eurostat said on Friday that the euro zone’s unemployment rate dropped to 10.1%, from April’s reading of 10.2%. The reading was in line with forecasts and the lowest since July 2011.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher, with AUD/USD up 0.36% at 0.7478 and with NZD/USD gaining 0.43% to 0.7165.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD rose 0.23% to trade at 1.2952.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 95.93.