WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar moved in a somewhat tight band for much of the session on Friday, reacting to news on the trade front, economic data and the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The dollar index, which declined to 98.99 a little before noon, recovered subsequently and was last seen at 99.10, down marginally from previous close.
The dollar weakened to $1.0959 against the euro, before recovering to $1.0943, but was still trailing its previous close by about 0.2%.
The British pound sterling weakened against major currencies after Bank of England policy maker Michael Saunders hinted at a possible U.K. rate cut if prolonged Brexit uncertainty drags down the economy.
Saunders said that the impact of Brexit uncertainties are akin to a 'slow puncture' for the UK economy, leading underlying growth to slow to a crawl.
Persistently high Brexit uncertainty seems to continue to depress UK growth, even without a no-deal Brexit, he warned.
'If the UK avoids a no-deal Brexit, monetary policy also could go either way and I think it is quite plausible that the next move in Bank Rate would be down rather than up.'
Against the dollar, the sterling was down 0.25% with a unit of sterling fetching $1.2293, compared to previous close of $1.2323.
The Japanese yen was down 0.1% at 107.93 a dollar.
Against the Aussie, the dollar shed about 0.27%, with the Aussie-Dollar pair at 0.6767.
The dollar was weak against the loonie and Swiss franc, at 1.3241 and 0.9912, respectively.
Data released by the Commerce Department said durable goods orders unexpectedly rose by 0.2% in August after jumping by 2% in July. The continued increase surprised economists, who had expected orders to pull back by 1%.
Another report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. personal income rose in line with economist estimates in the month of August, climbing by 0.4%, after ticking up by 0.1% a month earlier.
Meanwhile, the report said personal spending crept up by 0.1% in August after climbing by 0.5% in July. Spending had been expected to rise by 0.3%.
A report from the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. rebounded by more than initially estimated in the month of September, and showed a notable increase from a three-year low of 89.8 in August.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for September was upwardly revised to 93.2 from the preliminary reading of 92.0. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
On the trade front, optimism about a trade deal faded a bit after a report from Bloomberg News said Trump administration officials are discussing ways to limit U.S. investors' portfolio flows into China.
Citing people familiar with the internal deliberations, Bloomberg noted the move would have repercussions for billions of dollars in investment pegged to major indexes.
A source family with the matter confirmed to CNBC that the White House is weighing some curbs on U.S. investments in China but noted the discussions are in the preliminary stages and nothing has been decided.
The reports reflect the ever-changing landscape of U.S.-China relations that has kept traders reluctant to make significant bets.
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