Investing.com –
Investing.com – The dollar edged higher changed against the other major currencies on Friday, as the release of tepid U.S. data failed to dampen optimism over the strength of the country’s economic recovery.
In a revised report, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index ticked down to 98.1 in January from 98.2 the previous month, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
The UoM also said its inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 2.5% this month from 2.4% in December.
A separate report showed that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index rose to 59.4 this month from 58.8 in December, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated reading of 58.3. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 57.5 in January.
The data came after Bureau of Economic Analysis said U.S. gross domestic product rose 2.6% in the last quarter of 2014, down from a previous estimate of 3.0% and from a growth rate of 5.0% in the three months to September.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, added 0.17% to 95.13, close to last Friday’s more than 11-year highs of 95.77.
EUR/USD slipped 0.24% to 1,1290 Eurostat reported that the annual rate of euro zone inflation fell by 0.6% in January, after a 0.2% slip in December. Economists had expected an annual decline of 0.5%.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile measures such as food and energy costs, rose 0.5% on a year-over-year basis, but was still well below the European Central Bank’s target of close to, but just under 2%.
In a separate report, Eurostat said the euro zone’s unemployment rate ticked down to 11.4% in December from 11.5% the previous month, confounding expectations for the rate to remain unchanged.
The pound also declined, with GBP/USD down 0.45% to trade at 1.4997.
Data earlier showed that U.K. net lending to individuals fell to £2.2 billion in December from a revised £3.1 billion in November, while another report showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose by 60,280 last month after a downwardly revised 58,960 increase in November.
In addition, the U.K. Gfk consumer confidence index improved to 1 this month from minus 4 in December, compared to expectations for a reading of minus 2.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF rose 0.23% to 0.9260, while USD/JPY dropped 0.62% to 117.58.
A preliminary report earlier showed that Japanese industrial production rose 1.0% in December, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.3%, while a separate report showed that household spending in Japan rose 0.4% last month, below expectations for a 0.3% gain.
In Switzerland, the KOF Economic Research Agency said that its economic barometer fell to 97.0 this month from 98.8 in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated reading of 98.7. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 97.5 in January.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were mixed, with AUD/USD up 0.10 % off five-and-a-half year lows at 0.7771, while NZD/USD declined 0.40% close to a three-year trough at 0.7238.
The Canadian dollar hit fresh six-year lows, with USD/CAD climbing 0.76% to 1.2716 after Statistics Canada said the country’s GPD fell 0.2% in November, compared to expectations for a 0.1% downtick and after a 0.3% gain in October.
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