Investing.com - The dollar dropped and re-approached a six-month low against other major currencies on Friday, as U.S. political turmoil continued to weigh on the greenback, overshadowing the previous session’s upbeat U.S. data.
EUR/USD gained 0.47% to 1.1155, just below Thursday’s six-month peak of 1.1173.
The greenback briefly strengthened after the release on Thursday of upbeat data on U.S. initial jobless claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
But the dollar remained under broad selling pressure following reports this week that U.S. President Donald Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to end the agency's investigation into ties between former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed on Wednesday by the Justice Department as a special counsel to take over the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD advanced 0.59% to 1.3016, off the previous session’s eight-month high of 1.3051.
USD/JPY held steady at 111.49, while USD/CHF slid 0.23% to 0.9776.
The Australian dollar was stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.44% at 0.7451, while NZD/USD eased 0.09% to 0.6895.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD shed 0.23% to trade at 1.3572.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.39% at 97.38, moving close to Thursday’s six-month lows of 97.28.