Investing.com - The dollar was higher on Friday after manufacturing activity in the Chicago area rose to a four-and-a-half-year high.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.36% to 97.04 as of 10:16 AM ET (15:16 GMT).
The Chicago purchasing managers’ index rose to 66.4 in November, compared to expectations for a rise to 58.6, the Institute for Supply Management reported.
On the index, a number above 50.0 indicates an expansion, while below indicates contraction.
Investors are also looking ahead to news from the G20 summit in Argentina, where U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines.
On Thursday, Trump said he was close to doing “something” on trade with China, although he added that he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
The dollar was higher against the safe-heaven Japanese yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.07% to 113.55. In times of uncertainty, investors tend to invest in the Japanese yen, which is considered a safe asset during periods of risk aversion.
The euro was also lower on disappointing German retail sales, with EUR/USD slumping 0.46% to 1.1340. Retail sales in Germany fell to a three-month low of negative 0.3%, compared with estimates for a 0.4% increase.
The pound remained lower, with GBP/USD falling 0.34% to 1.2741 amid continued Brexit worries.
Elsewhere, NZD/USD was flat at 0.6858, while AUD/USD was down 0.31% to 0.72985.