Investing.com - The dollar slipped on Friday after rising briefly earlier in the day following the conclusion of the trade talks between U.S. and China that has yielded little progress.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.1% to 95.44 by 1:18AM ET (05:18 GMT).
The two-day trade talks between China and the U.S. ended on Thursday with no major breakthroughs.
"We concluded two days of discussions with counterparts from China and exchanged views on how to achieve fairness, balance, and reciprocity in the economic relationship," White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a brief statement.
Meanwhile, a new round of U.S. tariffs kicked in on $16 billion worth of imports from China, followed immediately by reciprocal tariffs from China.
Looking ahead, investor focus will likely shift to the speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to be held later on Friday at an annual meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Markets will pay attention to anything from the Fed chief about maintaining the central bank’s independence after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he was “not thrilled” about the Fed’s recent hikes and reportedly told people at a fundraiser he was expecting Powell be a cheap-money chairman.
"I think Powell may imply that regardless of political pressure the Fed may continue with rate hikes as long as the U.S. economy keeps expanding," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.
"If the market can confirm that, then I think the dollar's strength will continue, especially against the yen, and dollar/yen will head for 112 or the July high of around 113."
The USD/JPY pair gained 0.1% to 111.41. The dollar had gained nearly 0.7% against the Japanese currency on Thursday after the Fed's minutes showed officials discussed raising rates soon.
Elsewhere, the AUD/USD pair reversed earlier losses and traded 0.5% higher to 0.7285 after the ruling Liberal party voted Treasurer Scott Morrison to become Australia's next prime minister.
The Hong Kong dollar also received some attention as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city’s de facto central bank, had to intervene again and bought more HK$1.8 billion ($225 million) worth of local currency to maintain its peg with the dollar as the greenback gained earlier in the day after the conclusion of the U.S.-China talks. The city’s currency touched the weak end of its permitted trading band at HK$7.85 for a third day.