Investing.com - The dollar held steady against the euro and other major currencies on Friday, as markets digested the previous session's upbeat U.S. economic growth data and as expectations for a U.S. rate hike in September continued to support.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.0937, up from Thursdays' one-week lows of 1.0892.
The Commerce Department reported on Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 2.3% in the three months to June. First quarter growth was revised up to 0.6% from a previously reported contraction of 0.2%.
Although economists had forecast growth of 2.6% the report still indicated that the economy is on a solid footing.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 25 rose by 12,000 to 267,000 from the previous week’s total of 255,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 15,000 to 270,000 last week.
The data came after the Fed said in its rate statement on Wednesday that the economy and the labor market had continued to strengthen, reinforcing expectations for an initial rate hike at its September meeting.
Fed officials said they felt the economy had recovered from a first-quarter slowdown and was now "expanding moderately."
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the central bank could raise rates as soon as September if the economy continues to improve as expected.
The dollar was also steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 124.11, after hitting one-and-a-half month highs of 124.58 on Thursday.
In Japan, data earlier showed that household spending dropped 3.0% in June, confounding expectations for a 0.5% downtick, after a 2.4% increase the previous month.
Data also showed that consumer prices in Tokyo rose 0.2% this month, in line with market expectations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 97.55, down from Thursday's one-week high of 97.89.