FX:Dollar mixed to higher, focus on U.S. budget talks
Forexpros - The U.S. dollar was mixed to higher against the other major currencies on Friday, as markets remained jittery after discussions over the U.S. “fiscal cliff” appeared to have stalled.
During European morning trade, the dollar edged lower against the euro, with EUR/USD adding 0.14% to 1.2996.
The euro zone was little changed after official data showed that consumer price inflation in the euro zone fell more-than-expected in November, ticking down to an anualized rate of 2.2% from 2.5% the previous month.
Analysts had expected consumer price inflation to decline to 2.4% in November.
Separately, data showed that the unemployment rate in the euro zone rose to 11.7% in October from 11.6% the previous month, in line with expectations.
The data came after a report showed that German retail sales dropped by 2.8% in October, more than the expected 0.2% fall, following a 0.5% rise the previous month.
Meanwhile, investors were cautious as the Obama administration and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives reached a deadlock over how to prevent the country going over the so-called “fiscal cliff,” USD600 billion worth of sharp federal spending cuts and tax increases, in January 2013.
The greenback was higher against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.09% to 1.56024.
Elsewhere, the greenback rallied against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.68% to trade at 82.77, and was almost unchanged against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching 0.06% lower to 0.9268.
Earlier in the day, a preliminary report showed that Japan's industrial production rose 1.8% in October, beating expectations for a 2.2% drop, following a 4.1% decline the previous month.
Separately, official data showed that household spending in Japan fell less-than-expected last month, ticking down 0.1% after a 0.9% fall in September. Analysts had expected household spending to decline by 0.9% in October.
In addition, Japan's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2% in October, in line with expectations.
The greenback was higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD adding 0.12% to 0.9932, AUD/USD edging down 0.16% to 1.0417 and NZD/USD falling 0.23% to 0.8209.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.01% to 80.20.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on personal income, personal spending and core consumer inflation, in addition to official data on manufacturing activity in Chicago.
