(RTTNews) - The dollar was mostly weaker Friday morning in New York, amid rising optimism that Greece will secure a bailout deal next week.
Stocks were indicated to open higher on Wall Street, ahead of this morning closely watched reading on U.S. consumer prices.
Across the Atlantic, German chancellor Angela Merkel, cancelled a trip to visit Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, in order to handle the resignation of German president Christian Wulff.
The dollar held near $1.3150 versus the euro, having topped out near $1.2990 earlier in the week.
Against the sterling, the dollar fell sharply to $1.5860, extending its steep losses from the previous session.
U.K. retail sales increased in January, against economists' expectations for a decline data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.
Retail sales volume, including auto fuel, advanced 0.9 percent month-on-month. This was against economists' forecast for a 0.3 percent decline.
The buck continued to rise gradually versus the yen, touching a new 3-month peak of Y79.30, with the safe haven Japanese currency weaker across the board.
The buck was down a bit versus the loonie, slipping below parity on news that Canadian inflation picked up in January.
The Labor Department is scheduled to release its U.S> consumer price index for January at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the headline index to have increased 0.3 percent compared to a 0.2 percent increase in core inflation.
In December, the consumer price index remained unchanged compared with the previous month, while the core inflation rate came in at 0.1 percent.
Additionally, the Conference Board is scheduled to release a report on the U.S. leading index for January at 10 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for a 0.5 percent increase in the leading indicators index for the month compared to a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month.
