Investing.com - The dollar edged mostly lower on Friday, as investors locked in profits after the greenback rallied to three-week highs thanks to upbeat U.S. data and the perspective of additional easing measures in the euro zone.
USD/JPY was steady at 120.66, after rising to a one-month peak of 120.99 overnight.
The greenback was boosted after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 17 increased by 3,000 to 259,000 from the previous week’s total of 256,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 9,000 to 265,000.
In addition, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales increased by 4.7% to 5.55 million units last month from 5.30 million in August. Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1.4% to 5.38 million units in September.
EUR/USD edged up 0.14% to trade at 1.1120, off a two-month low of 1.1075 hit overnight.
The single currency weakened broadly after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB will "reexamine" its monetary policy in December, hinting at the possibility for further easing measures.
Speaking at the ECB's monthly press conference, Mr. Draghi added that the ECB's quantitative easing program is set to run until 2016 or beyond if necessary.
Mr. Draghi also said that downside risks have emerged for growth and the inflation outlook in the euro area.
The comments came shortly after the ECB said it was maintaining its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.05%, in line with market expectations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.11% at 96.33, off three-week highs of 96.65 reached overnight.