IV:Dollar broadly higher as E.Z. growth concerns weigh
Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against the other major currencies on Friday, as fresh concerns over the worsening of the debt crisis in the euro zone boosted demand for the safe haven greenback.
During European morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.22% to 1.3333.
The euro remained under pressure after official data on Thursday showed that euro zone gross domestic product contracted by 0.6% in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a 0.4% decline, after a 0.1% contraction in the third quarter.
It was the fastest rate of decline since 2009 and marked a third consecutive quarter of contraction.
In addition, Germany’s economy, the euro zone’s largest, contracted by 0.6% in the in the fourth quarter, more than expectations for a 0.5% drop on declining exports and investment.
Earlier Friday, Eurostat said that the euro zone's trade surplus rose to EUR12 billion in December, from a surplus of EUR11 billion, beating expectations for a decline to EUR10.7 billion.
The greenback was fractionally higher against the pound, with GBP/USD edging down 0.08% to 1.5477.
Official data earlier showed that retail sales in the U.K. fell 0.6% in January, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after a 0.3% decline the previous month.
Elsewhere, the greenback was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY dropping 0.44% to trade at 92.46, but steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing up 0.06% to 0.9217.
The yen found support after the Bank of Japan on Thursday kept monetary policy unchanged, in a widely expected decision.
The BoJ refrained from expanding its stimulus program following its policy setting meeting, as investors looked ahead to the meeting of finance ministers from the G20 in Moscow, amid concerns that Japan could come under pressure following the recent steep decline in the yen.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD adding 0.14% to 1.0023, AUD/USD slipping 0.10% to 1.0350 and NZD/USD edging 0.15% lower to 0.8497.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.06% to 80.52.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on manufacturing activity in New York state and industrial production. In addition, the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.
