Investing.com - The dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Friday, as markets eyed upcoming remarks by Federal Reserve officials later in the trading session.
The dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.17% to 1.3801.
Markets were eyeing comments by a number of Fed officials later Friday, after Fed Chair Janet Yellen surprised markets mid-week by suggesting the possibility of raising interest rates as soon as next year.
The greenback still found some supported after data on Thursday showed that U.S. initial jobless claims rose less-then-expected last week, while a separate report showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region expanded at a faster rate than expected in March.
In the euro zone, data showed that the current account surplus widened to €25.3 billion in January, from €20.0 billion in December, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated surplus of €21.3 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account surplus to narrow to €18.4 billion in January.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious as the European Union followed the U.S. in intensifying sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle to pressure his government to defuse the global standoff over Ukraine. The EU added on Friday 12 names to their list of Russians and Ukrainians punished with asset freezes and travel bans.
The pound was steady against the dollar, with GBP/USD inching up 0.04% to 1.6511.
Investors shrugged off data showing that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose by £7.5 billion in February, compared to expectations for an increase of £8.6 billion, after a £6.4 billion decline the previous month.
The dollar was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.16% to 102.24 and with USD/CHF falling 0.16% to 0.8824.
The greenback was steady to lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD climbing 0.51% to 0.9086, NZD/USD up 0.34% to 0.8563 and USD/CAD easing 0.04% to 1.1237.
In Australia, the Conference Board said its index of leading indicators rose 0.2% in January, after a 0.8% increase in December.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.12% to 80.25.