Investing.com - The euro was steady on Friday, as the U.S. dollar fell amid trade war concerns.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.22% to 94.72 as of 11:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT).
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese goods on Friday, with China threatening to respond.
The two largest economies in the world have been in a tit-for-tat over global trade tariffs in recent months as the two struggle to reconcile their trade differences. The tariffs have increased chances of a full-blown global trade war as the European Union and Canada have voted to retaliate against U.S. metal tariffs.
The dollar was lower against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY decreasing 0.12% to 110.49. In times of uncertainty, investors tend to invest in the Japanese yen, which is considered a safe asset during periods of risk aversion.
The euro was higher but still remained under pressure after the European Central Bank indicated on Thursday that it would hold interest rates steady until at least the summer of 2019.
EUR/USD rose 0.43% to 1.1618 after the final reading of the Euro Zone inflation data came in as expected.
The pound was higher, with GBP/USD rising 0.20% to 1.3287.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD down 0.25% at 0.7458, while NZD/USD slumped 0.33% to 0.6952. The loonie fell, with USD/CAD up 0.69% to 1.3191.