By William L. Watts and Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar lost some ground versus major rivals other than the Japanese yen Friday, with the euro edging higher on renewed hopes Greece’s European partners will agree to a deal on a second bailout by early next week.
The ICE dollar index DXY -0.16% , which tracks the U.S. unit against six other currencies, slipped to 79.286, down from 79.333 in North American trade late Thursday.
The euro EURUSD +0.46% erased a small early loss to change hands at $1.3163, up from $1.3141.
The European currency had risen in Thursday trading following reports that the region’s leaders were on track to approve money aid to Greece next week. See report on Thursday currency trading.
The euro rose “as markets became convinced that the ongoing negotiations for the Greek bailout will finally conclude next Monday, “ said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT, in emailed comments. Read more about Greece developments.
The British pound GBPUSD +0.17% rose to $1.5830, up from late Thursday’s $1.5804. Sterling was lifted after Britain’s Office for National Statistics reported an unexpected 0.9% jump in January retail sales volumes. Read about retail sales.
The Japanese yen lost further ground Friday on the back of dovish comments from the central bank government, as the dollar edged higher and the euro slipped.
The U.S. dollar extended its move higher against the yen USDJPY +0.48% , passing the ÂĄ79 level to buy ÂĄ79.30, up from ÂĄ78.85 in late North American trading on Thursday.
The euro EURJPY +0.90% bought ÂĄ104.37, a 0.8% gain for the day, according to FactSet data.
The softer yen came after Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Friday that the central bank would keep monetary policy loose, according to reports.
Shirakawa said the bank’s consumer inflation target of 1% — which could prompt it to tighten policy — is a long way off, adding that “the BOJ will continue with powerful monetary easing,” according to Reuters.
