The U.S. dollar traded a little lower Friday, with evidence of poor retail sales serving as the focus for thin post-holiday trading.
The euro rose 0.4% to $1.4065.
MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit showed total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell from the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve. See holiday retailer story.
The dollar index , which measures the currency against a basket of six major counterparts, was little changed at 80.91.
The Japanese yen also fell 0.5% versus the euro, to 127.33 yen, as reports out of Japan showed industrial output fell at a record pace and unemployment increased.
Industrial production fell as much as 8.1% in November from the previous month -- the biggest drop in the measure since the government started releasing comparable figures in 1953. See story on Japan's output.
Japan's seasonally-adjusted jobless rate climbed to 3.9% in November, up 0.2% from the previous month.
The data were "simply miserable," Marc Chandler, head of global currency strategy for Brown Brothers Harriman, wrote in an email. "The market knew conditions had deteriorated, but did not appreciate the magnitude."
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar gained 0.2% to 90.55 yen. The dollar has risen 19% on the Japanese currency this year.
European and British stock markets are closed, though U.S. equity and bond markets are open.
For all of 2008, the euro has declined 4% versus the dollar, while the dollar index has gained almost 6%.
