MW: Dollar edges higher; data, stress tests in play
By Laura Mandaro
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar strengthened a tad Friday after a rush of U.S. economic data contained some mild improvement -- though still a lot of weakness -- and ahead of results from Europe's bank stress tests. The dollar index DXY +0.14% traded at 75.326, up from 75.14 ahead of the morning's U.S. economic data releases, and 75.245 late Thursday. The euro EURUSD -0.21% bought $1.411, down from $1.416 ahead of the data, and $1.4139 late Thursday. Starting at 8:30 a.m., reports showed weaker New York-area manufacturing activity in early July; a slight rebound in June industrial production; and a slip in consumer inflation for June. "The main reason for the unusual strength in the greenback is the concern about the EU stress test results," wrote Kathy Lien, director research at GFT.
