Investing.com - The dollar was almost unchanged against other major currencies on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. economic reports due later in the day and as downbeat data from China fueled fresh concerns over global economic growth.
EUR/USD was steady at 1.1144, as investors were eyeing U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment data due later Friday for further indications on the strength of the economy after weak data published earlier in the week dampened expectations for a 2016 rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
On Thursday, data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 1,000 to 266,000 last week, disappointing expectations for a 4,000 drop to 265,000 last week.
USD/JPY edged up 0.14% to trade at 102.09.
Earlier Friday, official data showed that China’s industrial productionrose by an annualized rate of 6.0% in July, compared to expectations for a 6.1% increase and after a 6.2% gain in June.
Another report showed that the country’s retail sales rose by an annualized rate of 10.2% last month, confounding expectations for a 10.5% increase.
The data added to concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
GBP/USD held steady at 1.2955, close to the previous session’s one-month low of 1.2934.
The pound has been under broad selling pressure since the Bank of England lowered interest rates last week and after it missed its target in a new bond buying program on Tuesday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 95.91.