Investing.com - The U.S. dollar eased from an earlier high on Friday as the euro remained under pressure.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.06% to 94.67 as of 11:26 AM ET (15:26 GMT) after reaching an earlier high of 94.94.
Consumer spending in the U.S. rose as expected in August, but was slightly lower than the prior month.
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, was unexpectedly flat in August after an increase of 0.2% in the prior month. Economists had predicted a 0.1% rise.
Elsewhere, the dollar rose against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY up 0.13% to 113.53.
The euro was lower as investors were spooked after Italy's government targeted its budget deficit at 2.4% of gross domestic product for the next three years. The move puts the country in direct defiance of Brussels.
EUR/USD was last at 1.1621 after falling as low as 1.1576 earlier, the lowest level since Sept. 12.
Sterling was also lower, as investors remain skeptical of Brexit negotiations between the UK and the European Union. GBP/USD decreased 0.26% to 1.3043.
The Australian dollar was higher, with AUD/USD up 0.44% to 0.7240, while NZD/USD rose 0.35% to 0.6636 and USD/CAD fell 0.94% to 1.2921 as a trade deal between the U.S. and Canada looked less likely.