Investing.com - The dollar hovered at eight-month highs against the other major currencies on Friday, as trading volumes were expected to remain thin for the long Thanksgiving weekend and as hopes for an upcoming U.S. rate hike continued to support.
EUR/USD slipped 0.17% to 1.0592, not far from Wednesday's seven-month trough of 1.0564.
The greenback remained broadly supported after a string of upbeat U.S. data released over the week added to expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
However, the euro's gains were held in check since European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled last week that the bank is ready to act quickly to boost inflation in the euro zone and can also change the level of its deposit rate to boost the impact of quantitative easing.
USD/JPY was steady at 122.59.
In Japan, data on Friday showed that household spending fell 0.7% in October, compared to expectations for an increase of 1.1% and after a 1.3% drop the previous month.
A separate report showed that Tokyo's consumer price index rose by an annual rate of 0.2% in November, in line with expectations.
Core CPI, which excludes fresh food, in Tokyo was flat this month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% downtick.
Elsewhere, the dollar was higher against the pound and the Swiss franc, with GBP/USD down 0.34% at 1.5052 and with USD/CHF gaining 0.68% to 1.0307.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics reported on Friday that gross domestic product rose 0.5% in the third quarter, in line with expectations and with a previous estimate.
Year-on-year, U.K. GDP expanded 2.3% in the three months to September, as expected and in line with an initial estimate.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.26% at 0.7207 and with NZD/USD dropping 0.48% to 0.6540.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.32% to trade at 1.3334, not far from Monday's two-month high of 1.3437
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.21% at 100.07, just below Wednesday's eight-month peak of 100.21.