The dollar is down against its major rivals Friday afternoon, but has pared its early losses against the Euro and the British pound. The buck recovered some of its recent losses yesterday, after President Donald Trump remarked that he favors a strong currency.
US economic data was mixed at the end of the trading week. GDP came in weaker than expected, while durable goods orders exceeded expectations.
A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed weaker than expected U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017. The report said real gross domestic product increased by 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 3.2 percent growth seen in the third quarter. Economists had expected GDP to climb by 3.0 percent.
Partly reflecting another jump in orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a substantial increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of December.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders spiked by 2.9 percent in December after surging up by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in November. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 1.3 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month.
The dollar fell to a low of $1.2493 against the Euro Friday, but has since bounced back to around $1.2425.
Eurozone monetary aggregate grew at a slower pace in December, the European Central Bank said Friday. The broad money supply M3 climbed 4.6 percent year-on-year in December, slower than the 4.9 percent increase seen in November. M3 was forecast to grow again by 4.9 percent.
French consumer confidence declined unexpectedly at the start of the year, though marginally, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. The consumer sentiment index dropped to 104 in January from 105 in December. Meanwhile, economists had expected the index to rise to 106.
France’s manufacturing confidence strengthened unexpectedly in January, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. The manufacturing confidence index rose to 113 in January from 112 in December. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 112.0.
The buck dropped to a low of $1.4272 against the pound sterling Friday, but has since rebounded to around $1.4175.
The UK economy expanded at a slightly faster pace at the end of 2017, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, faster than the 0.4 percent logged a quarter ago. The rate was forecast to remain at 0.4 percent.
The greenback reached an early high of Y109.770 against the Japanese Yen Friday, but has since slipped to around Y108.690.
Overall nationwide consumer prices in Japan gained 1.0 percent on year in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday. That was unchanged from the November reading, although it came in beneath expectations for a gain of 1.1 percent.
Producer prices in Japan were up 0.8 percent on year in December, the Bank of Japan said on Friday, unchanged from the previous month and in line with expectations. On a monthly basis, producer prices were up 0.2 percent after adding 0.1 percent in November.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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