Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was on track to snap a two-week winning streak Friday after slipping against its rivals as a rebound from session lows in the pound and dovish comments from the Federal Reserve vice chairman weighed.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.14% to 96.33.
USD/GBP rose 0.16% to $1.3070 from a session low of $1.2969 on hopes the deadline for the U.K. to leave the European Union on March 29 would be pushed back.
The European Union’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said Friday he could not rule out the possibility that Britain’s EU withdrawal would be delayed.
Federal Reserve's members continued, meanwhile, to suggest the balance sheet would be used a tool to combat potential headwinds in the labor market or pace of inflation.
"The normalization of the balance sheet is not a competing goal," Fed Vice Chair Randal Quarles said at the Chicago Booth U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York. "If ever it appears that our plans for the balance sheet are running counter to the achievement of our dual-mandate objectives, we would quickly reassess our approach to the balance sheet." The dual mandate is to maximize employment while keeping prices stable.
The dovish comments come just days after the Federal Reserve's minutes indicated that members were preparing to halt their balance sheet unwinding program later this year.
The U.K. is seeking changes to the Irish backstop -- a measure included in the withdrawal agreement to prevent a hard border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland -- to increase the changes of the deal making it through the U.K. parliament.
EUR/USD rose 0.11% to $1.1347 as core consumer inflation in the EU was in line with economists' forecasts.
USD/JPY fell 0.05% to Y110.64, while USD/CAD fell 0.64% to C$1.3145 as the loonie came under pressure. Falling retail sales data from Canada undershot economists' forecasts.