Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly lower against the other major currencies in quiet trade on Friday, as investors remained cautious following the previous session’s disappointing U.S. data and as markets focused on developments in Europe.
EUR/USD edged up 0.19% to 1.1173, the highest since June 19.
Research group Markit earlier reported that its German flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slipped to 59.3 in June from 59.5 the previous month, compared to expectations for a decline to 59.0.
The German services PMI fell to 53.7 from 55.4.
Markit also said its French flash manufacturing PMI rose to 55.0 this month from 53.8 in April, beating expectations for a rise to 54.0. The French services PMI slipped to 55.3 from 56.9 however.
For the entire euro zone, the composite PMI, which includes manufacturing and service sector activity, declined to 55.7 in May from 56.8 the previous month, disappointing expectations for a downtick to only 56.2.
Separately, European leaders were gearing up for a second day of talks at a European Council meeting on Friday.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure following a report on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showing that initial jobless claims in the week ending June 17 increased by 3,000 to 241,000 from the previous week’s total of 238,000.
GBP/USD gained 0.34% to trade at 1.2725 after British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday laid out what she called a "fair deal" for EU citizens living in the U.K., saying that she did not want to split up families or for people to have to leave due to Brexit.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY held steady at 111.28, while USD/CHF was little changed at 0.9712.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.37% at 0.7568 and with NZD/USD gaining 0.21% to 0.7280.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3238.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.17% at 97.08, just off a one-week low of 96.95 hit overnight.