The US dollar finished lower Friday in another up-and-down session, sparked by some mixed news for the US economy and investors hedging bets ahead of Tuesday's presidential vote.
"Risk aversion is the name of the game coming into the election," said Thomas Molloy, currency trader at Bank Leumi.
In late New York trading, the euro was worth US$1.2791, up from US$1.2745 on Thursday. The dollar traded at ¥105.86, down from ¥106.21; 1.1944 Swiss francs, down from SF1.1994; and C$1.2192, down from C$1.2234.
Meanwhile, the British pound was quoted at US$1.8376, up from US$1.8305.
The dollar was little changed from Thursday when New York markets opened, but the US currency quickly fell back on worse-than-expected third quarter GDP data. Real GDP grew at a 3.7 percent annual rate in the third quarter, modestly faster than in the second quarter, but well below the 4.3 percent rate economists had forecast. The overall GDP inflation rate slowed to 1.3 percent from 3.2 percent.
After a knee-jerk decline, the dollar quickly recovered. Analysts said that while the headline figure disappointed, indications on domestic demand and consumer spending were encouraging.
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