Investing.com - The U.S. dollar turned mostly lower against the other major currencies on Friday, after the release of mixed U.S. economic reports amid growing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will taper its stimulus program later this month.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was fractionally lower against the euro, with EUR/USD edging up 0.08% to 1.3309.
In the U.S., official data showed that retail sales rose 0.2% in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an upwardly revised 0.4% increase the previous month.
Core retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in July.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose 0.3% in August, more than the expected 0.2%, after a flat reading the previous month.
Core producer price inflation, excluding food and energy, was flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.1% gain in July.
The data came as investor focus was turning to the Fed's upcoming policy meeting next week, amid growing uncertainty over whether the U.S. central bank will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Meanwhile, the euro remained under pressure as euro zone finance ministers were meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss further reforms to strengthen the region's banking sector.
On Thursday, the European Parliament approved legislation to allow the European Central Bank to oversee banks in the 17 nation currency bloc. ECB President Mario Draghi said the vote was “a real step forward” in establishing a banking union.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD gaining 0.36% to 1.5861.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.10% to trade at 99.46, and with USD/CHF falling 0.16% to 0.9291.
The greenback was mixed to higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD edging up 0.11% to 1.0334, AUD/USD edging down 0.12% to 0.9258 and NZD/USD rising 0.29% to 0.8161.
Data earlier showed that manufacuring the business manufacturing index for New Zealand slipped to 57.5 last month, from a reading of 59.5 in July.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.06% to 81.64.
In addition, concerns over Syria persisted as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held open talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons programs, on Thursday.
However, differences emerged at the outset of the negotiations. Commenting on the talks, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Later in the day, the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the dollar was fractionally lower against the euro, with EUR/USD edging up 0.08% to 1.3309.
In the U.S., official data showed that retail sales rose 0.2% in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an upwardly revised 0.4% increase the previous month.
Core retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in July.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose 0.3% in August, more than the expected 0.2%, after a flat reading the previous month.
Core producer price inflation, excluding food and energy, was flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.1% gain in July.
The data came as investor focus was turning to the Fed's upcoming policy meeting next week, amid growing uncertainty over whether the U.S. central bank will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Meanwhile, the euro remained under pressure as euro zone finance ministers were meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss further reforms to strengthen the region's banking sector.
On Thursday, the European Parliament approved legislation to allow the European Central Bank to oversee banks in the 17 nation currency bloc. ECB President Mario Draghi said the vote was “a real step forward” in establishing a banking union.
The greenback was also lower against the pound, with GBP/USD gaining 0.36% to 1.5861.
Elsewhere, the greenback edged lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.10% to trade at 99.46, and with USD/CHF falling 0.16% to 0.9291.
The greenback was mixed to higher against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD edging up 0.11% to 1.0334, AUD/USD edging down 0.12% to 0.9258 and NZD/USD rising 0.29% to 0.8161.
Data earlier showed that manufacuring the business manufacturing index for New Zealand slipped to 57.5 last month, from a reading of 59.5 in July.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.06% to 81.64.
In addition, concerns over Syria persisted as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held open talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons programs, on Thursday.
However, differences emerged at the outset of the negotiations. Commenting on the talks, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Later in the day, the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment.