Investing.com - The dollar pared gains against the other major currencies on Friday, pulling back from a one-and-a-half week high although the release of globally positive U.S. economic reports lent some support.
In a revised report, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index hit 91.2 in September, up from a previous estimate of 89.8 and beating expectations for a reading of 90.0.
Data also showed that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.2 this month from 51.5 the previous month, exceeding expectations for an uptick to 52.0.
The reports came after 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.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1218, off lows of 1.1153 hit earlier in the session.
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.
USD/JPY gained 0.30% to 101.32, after hitting a one-week high of 101.86 on Thursday.
The pound was steady, with GBP/USD at 1.2973, not far from last week’s one-month low of 1.2912, while USD/CHF climbed 0.52% to 0.9711.
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%.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.33% at 0.7659 and with NZD/USD rising 0.23% to 0.7271.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD slipped 0.26% to trade at 1.3110 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 steady at 95.42, after rising to the highest level since September 21 earlier in the session.