Investing.com - The dollar rose to fresh two-week highs against other major currencies on Friday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. consumer sentiment data due later in the day and as recent comments by U.S. President Donald Trump continued to support.
EUR/USD slipped 0.28% to a fresh two-week low of 1.0629.
The dollar remained supported after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks.
During a meeting with airline CEOs on Thursday, Trump promised a “phenomenal” tax plan, without giving any specific details of the plan.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the euro was still fragile amid concerns over the possibility of a Brexit or Trump-style shock result in France’s upcoming presidential election.
Worries over elections in the Netherlands, Germany and possibly Italy, as well as the ongoing row over Greece's bailout added to concerns over political risk in the euro area.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD fell 0.27% to 1.2464.
The pound shrugged off a report by the U.K. Office for National Statistics showing that manufacturing production rose 2.1% in December, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain. Year-on-year, manufacturing production increased by 4.0% in December.
The report also showed that industrial production rose 1.1% in December, more than the expected 0.2% gain.
Data also showed that the U.K. trade deficit narrowed to £10.89 billion in December from a revised £11.56 billion in November. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit £11.50 billion in December.
USD/JPY added 0.17% to 113.45, the highest since February 1, while USD/CHF edged up 0.19% to 1.0036.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump were set to hold a two-day summit in the U.S., starting on Friday. Trade and currency issues were expected to be in the spotlight.
The Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD up 0.30% at 0.7646, while NZD/USD held steady at 0.7182.
The two currencies were helped by earlier data showing that China’s imports climbed by an annualized rate of 16.7% in January, while exports rose 7.9%.
China is Australia’s biggest export partner and New Zealand’s second biggest export partner.
In separate news, in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, President Trump said he would honor the "One China" policy.
Trump had initially attracted criticism from China for saying that the U.S. did not necessarily have to stick to the "One China" policy.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD eased 0.08% to trade at 1.3136.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.22% at a fresh two-week high of 100.88.