By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The dollar traded in a narrow range Friday, as weaker economic data failed to trigger a meaningful move in either direction. But the greenback remained set to post a second-straight win thanks to strong gains against both the euro and sterling this week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was flat at 100.41, and traded in range of 100.25 to 100.87 in the session.
U.S. durable goods orders fell by 14.4% last month, the biggest slide since 2014, led by waning demand for big-ticket items such as cars and slump in orders for Boeing (NYSE:BA) passenger planes.
The dearth of movement in the greenback comes during a week in which the world's reserve currency racked up gains against both the pound and the euro.
GBP/USD was flat at $1.2353, but is on pace to snap a two-week winning streak. Concerns about Brexit weighed as the U.K and EU trade talks that got underway this week failed to show any sign of progress.
The U.K. "failed to engage substantially" on key sticking points in Brexit talks held this week, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said.
Despite the current disruptions caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the U.K. continues to insist that it will not extend the transition period beyond the end of the year.
"The improvement so far has been larger for the euro than for sterling, which experienced a more abrupt and more intense drop against the USD and is still suffering from Brexit uncertainty," UniCredit said.
EUR/USD fell 0.16% to $1.794.