Investing.com - The dollar was steady near two-week highs against other major currencies on Friday, still supported by U.S. President Donald Trump’s most recent comments, although political uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe continued to weigh on market sentiment.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.0661.
The dollar strengthened 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.
The comments came after the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims decreased by 12,000 to 234,000 in the week ending February 4. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 4,000
Meanwhile, sentiment on the euro remained 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.
GBP/USD was steady at 1.2504.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY climbed 0.40% to 113.70, the highest since February 1.
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.
Trump has accused Tokyo of using monetary policy to devalue its currency to boost exports.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher, with AUD/USD up 0.33% at 0.7649 and with NZD/USD edging up 0.08% to 0.7193.
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.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 100.69, just off a two-week high of 100.75 hit overnight.