Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of U.S. economic reports due later in the day.
EUR/USD edged up 0.10% to 1.1149.
The euro found some supprot after Eurostat said that euro zone gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter and in line with consensus forecasts.
Year-on-year, GDP in the single currency bloc rose 1.6% in the second quarter, matching both the expansion in the first three months of the year and the forecast.
The data was released after Germany surprised markets earlier on Friday with growth of 0.4%, compared to the 0.2% increase expected.
A separate report showed that euro zone industrial production rose 0.6% in June, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain and after a 1.2% decline the previous month.
Investors were looking ahead to U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment reports due later Friday for further hints on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next rate hike.
GBP/USD held steady at 1.2946, close to the previous session’s one-month low of 1.2934.
The pound has remained under broad selling pressure since the Bank of England lowered interest rates last week and after it missed its target in a new bond buying program on Tuesday.
USD/JPY added 0.17% to 102.12, while USD/CHF held steady at 0.9755.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.27% at 0.7678 and with NZD/USD shedding 0.26% to 0.7193.
Statistics New Zealand earlier reported that retail sales increased by 2.3% in the second quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.9% rise, after a 0.8% gain in the three months to March.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles and gas stations, rose 2.6% in the last quarter, beating expectations for a 1.1% increase.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD eased 0.15% to trade at 1.2974.
Markets were also jittery on Friday after data showed that China’s industrial production rose by an annualized rate of 6.0% in July, compared to expectations for a 6.1% increase and after a 6.2% gain in June.
Another report showed that the country’s retail sales rose by an annualized rate of 10.2% last month, confounding expectations for a 10.5% increase.
The data added to concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 95.85.