Investing.com - The dollar was little changed against a basket of other major currencies on Friday, after data showed that U.S. building permits rose less than expected last month but that housing starts climbed more than analysts had anticipated.
Official data showed that U.S. building permits rose 1.5% to 1.018 million units last month, disappointing expectations for an increase of 2.8% to 1.0.29 million units after a 5.1% drop to 1.003 million units in August.
A separate report showed that U.S. housing starts rose 6.3% in September to 1.017 million units, beating expectations for a 4.8% gain. Housing starts for August were revised to a 12.8% fall from a previously estimated 14.4% decline.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, eased 0.09% to 84.95.
EUR/USD edged up 0.08% to 1.2822, not far from Wednesday's three-week high of 1.2886.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable amid growing concerns over the threat of deflation in the euro zone after revised data on Thursday showed that bloc's consumer price inflation rose by 0.3% in September, in line with expectations.
The rate has now been below 1% for 12 straight months, well under the European Central Bank's target of near but just under 2%.
The pound and the Swiss france were moderately higher, with GBP/USD adding 0.13% to trade at 1.6108 and with USD/CHF down 0.08% to 0.9418.
Meanwhile, the yen slipped lower with USD/JPY gaining 0.13% to 106.47.
The commodity linked dollars turned steady to higher, with AUD/USD climbing 0.44% to 0.8794 and NZD/USD inching up 0.04% to 0.7956, while USD/CAD fell 0.15% to 1.1239.
Statistics Canada reported that consumer price inflation rose 0.1% last month, compared to expectations for a flat reading, after a flat reading in August.
Core consumer price inflation, which excludes the eight most volatile items, increased by 0.2% in September, more than the expected 0.1% rise, after a 0.5% gain the previous month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce a preliminary report on consumer sentiment.