Investing.com - The dollar trimmed losses but remained within close distance of a five-month trough against other major currencies on Friday, after the release of disappointing U.S. economic growth data and as concerns over U.S. politics continued to weigh.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the first quarter, down from the 2.1% growth rate registered in the fourth quarter of 2016. Analysts had expected the U.S. GDP to rise 1.2% in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the greenback remained fragile after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will either renegotiate or terminate a "horrible" trade deal with South Korea.
The comments came shortly after Trump said that a "major, major" conflict with North Korea is possible but he is looking for a diplomatic answer.
EUR/USD climbed 0.46% to 1.0923. Earlier Friday, data showed that German retail sales rose 0.1% in March, confounding expectations for a 0.3% fall.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD added 0.14% to 1.2920, just off a six-month high of 1.2956 hit earlier in the session.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Friday that the country's GDP expanded by 0.3% in the three months ended March 31, below forecasts for growth of 0.4%.
However, the U.K. economy grew by 0.7% in the preceding quarter and has now grown for 17 consecutive quarters.
Year-over-year, the U.K. economy expanded by a 2.1% rate in the first quarter, also below forecasts for an expansion of 2.2%.
USD/JPY rose 0.29% to 111.58, while USD/CHF slipped 0.18% to 0.9923.
Data earlier showed that Japan’s household spending declined 2.0% in March, compared to expectations for a 0.8% fall.
A separate report showed that Japan’s consumer price index rose by an annualized rate of 0.2% last month, below expectations for a 0.3% gain.
Meanwhile, industrial production dropped 2.1% in March, according to preliminary data, compared to forecasts for a 0.8% slide.
The Australian dollar was steady, with AUD/USD at 0.7463, while NZD/USD shed 0.20% to 0.6860.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD eased up 0.08% to trade at 1.3642, just off Thursday’s 14-month peak of 1.3672, after Statistics Canada reported that the country’s GDP was flat in February, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise and after 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 down 0.18% at 98.83, not far from a recent five-month low of 98.56.