Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against other major currencies on Friday, easing off a one-week low as optimism over recent comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and upbeat U.S. economic reports resurfaced mildly.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.0669, just off Thursday’s one-week peak of 1.0682.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims increased by 5,000 to 239,000 last week, compared to expectations for a 11,000 rise to 245,000.
Data also showed that building permits jumped by 4.6% to 1.285 million units last month from 1.210 million in December.
The greenback had strengthened broadly after Ms. Yellen told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that the central bank will likely need to raise interest rates at one of its upcoming meetings.
GBP/USD held steady at 1.2487.
Meanwhile, USD/JPY was up 0.14% at 113.43.
The New Zealand dollar was lower, with NZD/USD down 0.31% at 0.7189 after Statistics New Zealand said retail sales rose 0.8% in the fourth quarter, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.0%.