Investing.com - The dollar fell against most major currencies Friday after surprisingly strong German business sentiment data coupled with talk the International Monetary Fund will do more to battle the European debt crisis sparked a risk-on trading session at the dollar's expense.
The euro strengthened against the dollar in U.S. trading Friday, with EUR/USD up 0.56% and trading at 1.3211 in very choppy trading.
Markets brushed off fears over whether Spain will run into more financial problems and took on some risk Friday.
In Germany, the Ifo business sentiment index for April rose to 109.9 from 109.8 the previous month, outpacing expectations for the figure to drop to 109.5.
April's figure represented a nine-month high.
Germany is Europe's largest economy and improving morale there bodes well for the continent.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she expects member countries to contribute more to a financial firewall to contain the debt crisis.
Yields have been rising in Spanish bond auctions although turnout has been solid.
On Thursday, Spain raised EUR2.54 billion via an issue of 2-year and 10-year bonds, beating targets of between EUR1.5 billion to EUR2.5 billion.
The benchmark 10-year bonds sold at a return of 5.743 percent.
Such high yields continued to stoke fears Spain may need assistance, which could prove to be difficult due to its size.
Lagarde's comments, however, eased those fears as more contributions from member nations would allow for a multilateral containment of the crisis and keep it from spreading.
Meanwhile in the U.K., monthly retail sales rose more than expected to a seasonally adjusted 1.8% last month, from -0.8% in the preceding month.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.34% and trading at 1.6107.
The U.S. currency was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.04% at 81.57, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.63% and trading at 0.9092.
The dollar was down against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.26% at 0.9931, AUD/USD up 0.34% at 1.0367 and NZD/USD up 0.46% at 0.8174.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.49% at 79.31.
The euro strengthened against the dollar in U.S. trading Friday, with EUR/USD up 0.56% and trading at 1.3211 in very choppy trading.
Markets brushed off fears over whether Spain will run into more financial problems and took on some risk Friday.
In Germany, the Ifo business sentiment index for April rose to 109.9 from 109.8 the previous month, outpacing expectations for the figure to drop to 109.5.
April's figure represented a nine-month high.
Germany is Europe's largest economy and improving morale there bodes well for the continent.
Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said she expects member countries to contribute more to a financial firewall to contain the debt crisis.
Yields have been rising in Spanish bond auctions although turnout has been solid.
On Thursday, Spain raised EUR2.54 billion via an issue of 2-year and 10-year bonds, beating targets of between EUR1.5 billion to EUR2.5 billion.
The benchmark 10-year bonds sold at a return of 5.743 percent.
Such high yields continued to stoke fears Spain may need assistance, which could prove to be difficult due to its size.
Lagarde's comments, however, eased those fears as more contributions from member nations would allow for a multilateral containment of the crisis and keep it from spreading.
Meanwhile in the U.K., monthly retail sales rose more than expected to a seasonally adjusted 1.8% last month, from -0.8% in the preceding month.
The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.34% and trading at 1.6107.
The U.S. currency was down against the yen, with USD/JPY trading down 0.04% at 81.57, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.63% and trading at 0.9092.
The dollar was down against its counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.26% at 0.9931, AUD/USD up 0.34% at 1.0367 and NZD/USD up 0.46% at 0.8174.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.49% at 79.31.