WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar exhibited weakness against all the major currencies on Friday as traders continued to bet the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month.
The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose testimony on Wednesday hinted at a rate cut this month, indicated such a possibility once again on Thursday when he said businesses slow investment due to trade disputes and a global growth slowdown.
The dollar index drifted down to a low of 96.79, after initially edging up to 97.12 and scoring a small gain. It had ended the previous session at 97.05.
Against the euro, the dollar was down by about 0.14%, at $1.1271, after having strengthened to $1.1239 earlier in the day.
Data from Eurostat showed that Eurozone industrial production rebounded at a faster than expected pace 0.9% month-on-month in May, after declining 0.4% in April. This was the first increase in four months.
The pound sterling surged up 0.4% to $1.2572, rallying from a low of $1.2520.
The dollar was notably lower against the yen as well, with a unit of greenback fetching 107.90 yen, about 0.55% down from 108.49 yen late Thursday.
Against the loonie, the dollar weakened to 1.3035, losing about 0.28% and giving the Canadian currency its highest value against the greenback in about ten months.
Against Swiss franc, the dollar shed nearly 0.6% at 0.9842. The Aussie strengthened by 0.66%, with the pair trading at 0.7020.
A report from the Labor Department today said the producer price index for final demand inched up by 0.1% in June, matching the uptick seen in May. Economists had expected producer prices to come in unchanged.
Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices climbed by 0.3% in June after rising by 0.2% in May. Core prices had been expected to show another 0.2% increase.
On Thursday, the data from the Labor Department showed consumer price index inched up by 0.1% in June, matching the slight increase seen in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to come in unchanged.
The unexpected uptick in consumer prices came even though energy prices tumbled by 2.3% in June after falling by 0.6% in May.
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