Investing.com - The dollar firmed against major currencies Friday as investors decided the euro had posted enough gains in recent sessions to merit profit-taking, which sparked more broader demand for the greenback.
Market watchers were also getting a little anxious to see some sort of announcement emerge from debt negotiation talks between the Greek government and a group of private creditors.
The dollar on Friday rose against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.29% and trading at 1.2932.
The Greek government must come to terms on how to restructure its debt with private creditors.
Failure to do so may mean Athens will be unable to tap fresh bailout money and won't avoid defaulting on a EUR14.4 billion bond redemption coming due on March 20.
While fears of such a scenario weren't gripping foreign-exchange markets Friday, desires for an end to negotiations and a beginning for more concrete workout plans are building.
"People are trimming just a bit of long-euro exposure into the weekend, given the Greek private sector involvement," said Alan Ruskin, global head of Group-of-10 foreign-exchange strategy at Deutsche Bank AG in New York, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile in the U.K. retail sales came in line with expectations, rising 0.6% in December, while a U.S. National Association of Realtors report showed that December existing home sales rose 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million units, which fell short of market expectations for 4.65 million.
The dollar, therefore, was weaker against the pound, with Cable rising 0.43% to hit 1.5555.
The greenback was down 0.20% against the yen, with USD/JPY trading at 76.95, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.26% to 0.9345.
The greenback was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD rising 0.23% to 1.0132, AUD/USD up 0.65% to 1.0487 and NZD/USD up 0.38% at 0.8060.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.11% at 80.36.
Investors will keep a close eye on the Greek debt restructuring talks over the weekend and next week, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will meet to discuss the future of U.S. monetary policy.
Talk or even hints of loose policies such as quantitative easing, which are asset purchases from banks with freshly minted money, could move markets worldwide.
On Sunday, Japan will release trade balance figures, while Australia will unveil producer price data.
European consumer confidence numbers come out on Monday, while the Bank of Japan will hold a monetary policy meeting as well.
Market watchers were also getting a little anxious to see some sort of announcement emerge from debt negotiation talks between the Greek government and a group of private creditors.
The dollar on Friday rose against the euro, with EUR/USD falling 0.29% and trading at 1.2932.
The Greek government must come to terms on how to restructure its debt with private creditors.
Failure to do so may mean Athens will be unable to tap fresh bailout money and won't avoid defaulting on a EUR14.4 billion bond redemption coming due on March 20.
While fears of such a scenario weren't gripping foreign-exchange markets Friday, desires for an end to negotiations and a beginning for more concrete workout plans are building.
"People are trimming just a bit of long-euro exposure into the weekend, given the Greek private sector involvement," said Alan Ruskin, global head of Group-of-10 foreign-exchange strategy at Deutsche Bank AG in New York, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile in the U.K. retail sales came in line with expectations, rising 0.6% in December, while a U.S. National Association of Realtors report showed that December existing home sales rose 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million units, which fell short of market expectations for 4.65 million.
The dollar, therefore, was weaker against the pound, with Cable rising 0.43% to hit 1.5555.
The greenback was down 0.20% against the yen, with USD/JPY trading at 76.95, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.26% to 0.9345.
The greenback was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD rising 0.23% to 1.0132, AUD/USD up 0.65% to 1.0487 and NZD/USD up 0.38% at 0.8060.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.11% at 80.36.
Investors will keep a close eye on the Greek debt restructuring talks over the weekend and next week, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will meet to discuss the future of U.S. monetary policy.
Talk or even hints of loose policies such as quantitative easing, which are asset purchases from banks with freshly minted money, could move markets worldwide.
On Sunday, Japan will release trade balance figures, while Australia will unveil producer price data.
European consumer confidence numbers come out on Monday, while the Bank of Japan will hold a monetary policy meeting as well.