The US dollar traded mostly lower on Friday after a report showing a steep decline in new US home sales prompted traders to rethink their outlook for future rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The euro rose to US$1.2037 from US$1.1996 late on Thursday in New York. The US dollar was meanwhile trading at ?117.42 against ?117.88 on Thursday.
The fall in new US home sales was unexpected, particularly after Thursday's strong data on sales of existing homes.
Sales of new homes fell by 10.5 percent to 1.080 million units last month, official figures showed, well below market expectations for a decrease to about 1.21 million. It was the largest percentage decrease in almost nine years.
"The data should put some caution into the speculation about the Fed's rate hike policy," said Mike Malpede, senior currency analyst at Man Global Research. The prospect of higher US rates has been underpinning the greenback in recent months.
Some said the latest report on housing could be even more worrisome for the economy.
Attention will now turn to Tuesday's rate decision by the policymakers on the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC).
The FOMC is fully expected to raise rates by another quarter point to 4.75 percent, and all attention will center on the accompanying statement for hints as to the likelihood of further monetary tightening.
"Next week's FOMC meeting and the all-important accompanying statement now take center stage," Michael Woolfolk at the Bank of New York said.
In late New York trade, the US dollar stood at 1.3104 Swiss francs after SF1.3171 on Thursday.
The pound was being traded at US$1.7424 following US$1.7340 on Thursday.
The US dollar gained against the New Taiwan dollar on Friday, increasing NT$0.091 to close at NT$32.669.
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