Forex - U.S. dollar mixed despite signs of growth

Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its counterparts, Friday despite anticipated signs of U.S. economic growth.
  
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar was higher against the euro, with EUR/USD slipping 0.05% striking 1.3074. 
  
The U.S. dollar was strengthened on anticipation that industrial production at U.S. factories, mines and utilities increased 0.4% prior to the official data being released later in today.

In addition, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment is expected to hit a one year high of 76 in March adding to the greenback’s bullishness. The actual report will be released later in the session.

Worries that the European Central Bank may refrain from taking further action to fight Europe’s debt crisis, despite inflation nearing its 2% limit even as the economy contracts weighed on the single currency.

The ECB stated in its monthly bulletin yesterday inflation is likely to stay above 2% with prevailing upside risk, increasing euro zone worries.
  
Sparking the greenback’s rally earlier in the week,  investors reduced expectations for additional monetary easing after the Fed upgraded its outlook for the economy during the rate statement Tuesday. 
  
The greenback was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD gaining 0.16% to trade at 1.5736.
  
The greenback was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF falling 1.02% to hit 0.9211. 
  
The Swiss franc found support after the Swiss National Bank kept its minimum exchange rate floor of 1.20 per euro unchanged, following its monetary policy meeting earlier. 
  
The greenback pulled back from an 11-month high against the yen, with USD/JPY dropping 0.45% to hit 83.34. 
  
Prospects for further stimulus from the Bank of Japan have resulted in the yen dropping 5.4% in the last month, making it the worst performer among 10 developed market currencies.

Minutes from the BOJ policy meeting revealed that one member said the central bank should aim for 2% inflation.

During the meeting, the bank surprisingly expanded its asset purchase program by 10 trillion yen and set an inflation goal of 1%

Elsewhere, the greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cousins, with USD/CAD rising 0.03% to hit 0.9923,AUD/USD climbing 0.11% to hit 1.0537 and NZD/USD adding 0.41% to hit 0.8224. 
  
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.32% to hit 80.34. 
  
On Thursday, government data indicated that U.S. producer price inflation rose slightly less-than-expected in February, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, below expectations for a 0.5% gain, while core producer prices rose 0.2% last month, meeting expectations.