WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar exhibited strength against most major currencies on Friday, thanks to fairly upbeat economic data and on hopes the Fed will hold interest rates steady in the near term.
The dollar index advanced to 97.76 after showing modest strength early on in the session, and was last seen hovering around 97.70, up 0.33% from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar was stronger by about 0.4% at $1.1078, after seeing some weakness early on in the day.
Data from the European Central Bank showed that the euro area current account surplus increased in October driven by trade surplus and primary income.
The current account surplus advanced to EUR 32 billion from EUR 28 billion in the previous month.
The Pound Sterling was up slightly against the greenback, with a unit of Sterling fetching $1.3005, compared to $1.3010 on Thursday afternoon.
Against the Japanese Yen, the dollar gained about 0.1% at 109.48 yen, despite some weakness early on in the session.
Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs showed that Japan's consumer price inflation accelerated in November after the sales tax hike but remained well below the central bank target.
Core inflation that excludes fresh food rose to 0.5% in November from 0.4% in October, in line with expectations.
The dollar was up 0.25% and 0.32%, respectively against the Loonie and Swiss Franc, with the respective pairs trading at 1.3157 and 0.9816.
Against the Aussie, the dollar declined by about 0.2%, with the Aussie trading at 0.6900 a dollar.
In economic news from the U.S., the Commerce Department said real gross domestic product jumped by 2.1% in the third quarter, unchanged from the estimate released last month and in line with economist expectations.
The unrevised GDP growth in the third quarter reflects a modest acceleration from the 2% increase seen in the second quarter.
Another report from the Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.5% in November after inching up by a revised 0.1% in October.
Economists had expected personal income to rise by 0.3% compared to the virtually unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved by slightly more than initially estimated in the month of December, according to a raeport released by the University of Michigan on Friday.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for December was upwardly revised to 99.3 from the preliminary reading of 99.2. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
With the upward revision, the consumer sentiment index for December is even further above the final November reading of 96.8.
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