Investing.com - The dollar firmed against the world's major currencies on Friday after fears continued to build that the European Central Bank may renew its bond buyback policy to ease credit concerns brewing in Spanish government bond auctions.
The euro fell against the dollar in U.S. trading Friday, with EUR/USD falling 0.83% and trading at 1.3078.
Fears are brewing that Europe's debt crisis has spread to Spain and to fight it, the European Central Bank might roll out a prior policy of buying government bonds to lower borrowing costs and ease the continent's financial woes.
The European Central Bank has made low-cost credit available to the continent's banks in an effort to ease the crisis, but markets grew increasingly worried Friday that more direct intervention made be needed.
Such fears sent investors running to the dollar as a safety play, especially on talk that some ECB policymakers may oppose intervention in bond markets, making the greenback an even more attractive safe harbor to ride out uncertainty.
Meanwhile in China, the country's gross domestic product grew 8.1% in the first quarter, below expectations for 8.3% growth and well beneath the fourth quarter's 8.9% expansion, which further prompted investors worldwide to snap up greenbacks.
In the U.S., the consumer price index rose 0.3% in March from February, in line with expectations, while core inflation rates, stripped of volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, also in line with expectations.
Some clouds popped up on the horizon in U.S. markets.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment fell to 75.7 for April from 76.2 in March, mainly due to fears that high gasoline prices will eat into household wallets.
On the U.S. employment front, weekly initial jobless claims hit an unexpected 380,000, the government reported on Thursday, above expectations for 355,000 claims.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke in public on Friday but made little mention of monetary policy.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.64% and trading at 1.5856.
The U.S. currency was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.28% at 81.13, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.92% at 0.9197.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.46% at 0.9987, AUD/USD down 0.57% at 1.0379 and NZD/USD down 0.37% at 0.8246.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.73% at 80.05.
On Monday, the U.S. will release retail sales figures.
The euro fell against the dollar in U.S. trading Friday, with EUR/USD falling 0.83% and trading at 1.3078.
Fears are brewing that Europe's debt crisis has spread to Spain and to fight it, the European Central Bank might roll out a prior policy of buying government bonds to lower borrowing costs and ease the continent's financial woes.
The European Central Bank has made low-cost credit available to the continent's banks in an effort to ease the crisis, but markets grew increasingly worried Friday that more direct intervention made be needed.
Such fears sent investors running to the dollar as a safety play, especially on talk that some ECB policymakers may oppose intervention in bond markets, making the greenback an even more attractive safe harbor to ride out uncertainty.
Meanwhile in China, the country's gross domestic product grew 8.1% in the first quarter, below expectations for 8.3% growth and well beneath the fourth quarter's 8.9% expansion, which further prompted investors worldwide to snap up greenbacks.
In the U.S., the consumer price index rose 0.3% in March from February, in line with expectations, while core inflation rates, stripped of volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, also in line with expectations.
Some clouds popped up on the horizon in U.S. markets.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment fell to 75.7 for April from 76.2 in March, mainly due to fears that high gasoline prices will eat into household wallets.
On the U.S. employment front, weekly initial jobless claims hit an unexpected 380,000, the government reported on Thursday, above expectations for 355,000 claims.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke in public on Friday but made little mention of monetary policy.
The greenback, meanwhile, was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.64% and trading at 1.5856.
The U.S. currency was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.28% at 81.13, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.92% at 0.9197.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.46% at 0.9987, AUD/USD down 0.57% at 1.0379 and NZD/USD down 0.37% at 0.8246.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.73% at 80.05.
On Monday, the U.S. will release retail sales figures.