Investing.com – The dollar regained some ground against the euro and the yen on Friday, as markets digested the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy statement and as investors eyed the release of U.S. consumer sentiment data due later in the day.
EUR/USD slipped 0.19% to 1.1295.
The greenback recovered from broad losses posted after the Fed left its monetary policy unchanged on Wednesday and said that it is likely to raise interest rates twice this year – and not four times, as initially estimated.
Fed policymakers said the U.S. economy faces risks from an uncertain global economy, although moderate growth and "strong job gains" would allow it to tighten policy this year.
The dollar found some support after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week.
In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved to 12.4 this month from February's reading of -2.8.
USD/JPY edged down 0.13% to trade at 111.24, not far from the previous session’s 17-month low of 110.66.
Earlier Friday, the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s January policy meeting showed that policymakers made two proposals, one to expand the bank's asset-buying program and another to add negative interest rates to asset purchases.
According to the minutes, the BOJ eventually decided to adopt the negative interest rate policy after several members argued the move would help prevent external factors from delaying the eradication of Japan's "deflationary mindset".
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.21% at 94.97, off a fresh five-month low of 94.61 hit overnight.