Investing.com - The dollar remained steady to higher against the other major currencies on Friday, as the release of downbeat U.S. home sales data missed analysts' expectations, fuelling fresh concerns over the strength of the country's economic recovery.
The dollar was little changed against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.04% to 1.3721.
The National Association of Realtors said U.S. existing home sales declined 5.1% to 4.62 million units last month, compared to expectations for a 4.3% drop to 4.68 million units.
In December, existing home sales were revised to a 0.8% rise to 487 million units from an initially estimated 1% increase.
The pound was steady against the dollar, with GBP/USD easing 0.03% to 1.6645.
Official data earlier showed that U.K. retail sales dropped 1.5% in January, more than the expected 1% decline. Retail sales in December were revised down to a 2.5% increase from a previously estimated 2.6% gain.
On a yearly basis, U.K. retail sales rose 4.3% last month, compared to expectations for a 5% increase, after a 5.3% advance in December.
A separate report showed that public sector net borrowing in the U.K. dropped by 6.4 billion in January, confounding expectations for a 9 billion decline. Public sector net borrowing for December was revised down to a 9 billion increase from a previously estimated 10.4 billion jump.
The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.49% to 102.77 and steady against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching 0.02% lower to 0.8894.
In the minutes of its January policy meeting, the Bank of Japan said that in order to avoid any misunderstanding about its monetary easing program, the bank needed "to provide a clear explanation that it did not strictly set this to end in two years."
In April last year, the BoJ had announced a policy overhaul that aimed to double the money supply and achieve 2% inflation within about two years.
The greenback was higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD declining 0.56% to 0.8956, NZD/USD shedding 0.37% to 0.8273 and USD/CAD rising 0.35% to 1.1138.
In Canada, official data showed that core consumer price inflation, which excludes the eight most volatile items, rose 0.2% in January, more than the expected 0.1% uptick, after a 0.4% fall the previous month.
Consumer price inflation gained 0.3% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.2% slip in December.
A separate report showed that retail sales in Canada dropped 1.8% in December, compared to expectations for a 0.5% fall. In November, retail sales were revised to a 0.5% rise, from a previously estimated 0.6% increase.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.08% to 80.38.