The US dollar was slightly higher on Friday, coming off its strongest level for the day, as risk appetite returned to the market in the afternoon with US equities recovering from early losses and Treasury yields extending their rise.
Investors also consolidated gains made on other currencies at the expense of the US dollar ahead of a long weekend in the US.
Financial markets are closed tomorrow for Presidents Day.
The outlook for the US dollar remained lower, according to Marshall Gittler, head of investment research at BDSwiss Group.
The greenback is “considered the safest of safe havens and tends to fall when people are not looking for safe havens,” Gittler said. “With markets rallying and the US Fed on hold indefinitely, I expect the dollar to be widely used as a funding currency, pushing its value down.”
In afternoon trading, the dollar index rose 0.1 percent to 90.494 after subdued volumes in Asia because of the Lunar New Year.
On the week, the index fell 0.6 percent, its first losing week in three — in what ING Groep NV analysts described as a “consolidative mood” amid uncertainty about the pace of the US economic recovery. Weaker-than-expected weekly US jobless claims data on Thursday added to concerns the US dollar’s previous rally had priced in too fast an economic rebound.
The US dollar was up 0.2 percent against the yen at ￥104.97. It fell 0.4 percent on the week, its steepest fall since mid-December.
The euro slipped 0.1 percent to US$1.2116, but on the week, the single European currency rose 0.5 percent. The British pound rose 0.2 percent versus the US dollar to US$1.3848, despite data showing Britain’s economy suffered a record slump last year, although it did grow in the final quarter.
The Australian dollar, a proxy for risk appetite, rallied from lows to trade flat on the day at US$0.7753. The New Zealand dollar likewise cut its losses against the greenback.
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