Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly lower against the other major currencies on Friday, as the release of downbeat U.S. personal spending data added to concerns over the strength of the economy.
The dollar was lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.47% at 120.56.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Friday that personal spending rose 0.1% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% rise and after a 0.4% increase in August.
The data added to concerns over the strength of the economy after the Commerce Department said on Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the three months to September, missing expectations for growth of 1.6%.
Also Friday, data showed that U.S. employment costs rose 0.6% in the third quarter, in line with expectations.
The greenback had strengthened broadly after Wednesday’s Federal Reserve statement said that officials might make a decision to raise interest rates at their December meeting.
Meanwhile, the yen remained supported after the Bank of Japan refrained from adding additional monetary easing measures at its monthly policy meeting on Friday.
EUR/USD rose 0.34% to trade at 1.1014.
Eurostat, the statistical body of the European Union, reported on Friday that the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone was flat in September, compared to expectations for a 0.1% uptick, after a 0.1% dip the previous month.
Data also showed that the single currency bloc's unemployment rate slipped to 10.8% last month from 10.9% in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 11.0%. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain at 11.0% in September.
Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.22% at 1.5343 and was steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9900.
In Switzerland, the KOF Economic Barometer came in at 99.8 this month, below expectations for 100.0 and down from a revised reading of 100.3 in September.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.24% at 0.7091 and with NZD/USD climbing 0.61% to 0.6735.
Data earlier showed that the ANZ Business Confidence Index for New Zealand fell to 10.5 in October from 18.9 the previous month, compared to expectations for a drop to 10.0.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged up 0.13% to trade at 1.3190 after Statistics Canada reported that the country's GDP rose 0.1% in August, in line with expectations and down from a 0.3% growth rate the previous month.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.25% at 97.12, still close to Wednesday's two-and-a-half month highs of 97.89.