Investing.com - The dollar ticked higher against most of the other major currencies on Friday, amid heightened safe haven demand in the wake of a North Korean nuclear test, but still remained on track for a weekly loss.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies ticked up to 95.19.
The dollar has come under pressure this week after a report showing that U.S. service sector activity slowed in August to its lowest level since early 2010.
The weak data, coming after last week’s lackluster U.S. jobs report clouded the outlook for the economy and indicated that the Federal Reserve may hold off raising interest rates for longer.
The Fed raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in December.
Expectations of higher interest rates typically boost the dollar by making it more attractive to yield seeking investors.
The dollar gained ground against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.47% to 102.95 amid investor caution after North Korea announced that it had carried out a nuclear test.
The dollar also moved higher against the risk related Australian, Canadian and New Zealand dollars.
AUD/USD was down 0.79% to 0.7582, USD/CAD rose 0.5% to 1.2998 and NZD/USD lost 0.65% to trade at 0.7350.
The Canadian dollar extended losses after data showing that the country’s unemployment rate ticked higher in August.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 7.0%, last month.
The report also showed that the Canadian economy added a larger than forecast 26,200 jobs last month.
The euro was steady, with EUR/USD at 1.1254.
The single currency remained supported after the European Central Bank said it had not discussed extending its stimulus program at its Thursday meeting.
Sterling was little changed, with GBP/USD at 1.3302.