Investing.com - The dollar rose to fresh 11-1/2 year highs against a basket of other major currencies on Friday, as the release of weak U.S. data dampened optimism over the strength of the U.S. economy and weighed on demand for risk-related assets.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that producer prices fell 0.5% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain, after a 0.8% decline in January.
Core producer prices, which exclude food, energy and trade, also slipped 0.5% in February, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.1% downtick the previous month.
Separately, the University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index fell to a four-month low of 91.2 this month from 95.4 in February, disappointing expectations for a rise to 95.5.
The University of Michigan also said that its inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 3.0% in March from 2.8% last month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 1.12% to 100.24, the strongest since September 2003.
EUR/USD tumbled 1.34% to a fresh 12-year low of 1.0490.
The euro remained under pressure after the European Central Bank began purchasing securities on Monday as part of an asset-buying program amounting to €60 billion a month.
Concerns over the situation in Greece also weighed, as the eurogroup of finance ministers continued talks in Brussels to discuss a reform package put forward by Greece as part of its bailout review.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday that the country will be able to fulfill its financial responsibilities, even if creditors don't a pay a tranche of aid.
The dollar was steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 121.25 and higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF climbing 0.64% to 1.0087.
Sterling pushed lower, with GBP/USD losing 1.02% to a four-and-a-half year low at 1.4730.
AUD/USD dropped 1.08% near six-year lows at 0.7623, while NZD/USD retreated 0.88% to 0.7325.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD advanced 0.93% to trade at a six-year high of 1.2803.
Statistics Canada reported that the number of employed people declined by 1,000 in February, compared to expectations for a 5,000 drop, after an increase of 35,400 the previous month.
The report also showed that Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.8% last month from 6.6% in January, confounding expectations for an uptick to 6.7%.