WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar saw yet another weak session as traders turned to riskier assets on Friday amid optimism the U.S. and China will soon sign the phase 1 trade deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that that there will be a signing ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping sometime soon.
On Thursday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the country is in touch with the U.S. on signing the phase one trade deal.
The dollar lost ground against most major currencies. The dollar index declined to a low of 96.92 and was last seen moving around 97.00, down more than 0.5% from previous close.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to $1.1175, from $1.1099, giving up nearly 0.7%.
The Pound Sterling strengthened too, with a unit of sterling fetching $1.3071, compared to $1,2997 on Thursday.
Against the Japanese Yen, the dollar shed about 0.14% at 109.48 yen, after briefly edging above the flat line at 109.63.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary reading that industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 0.9% on month in November. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 1.1% following the 4.5% drop in October.
The jobless rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.2%. Retail sales in Japan were up a seasonally adjusted 4.5% on month in November.
Overall consumer prices in the Tokyo area increased by 0.9% on year in December, in line with expectations, and up from 0.8% in November.
The Aussie was up nearly 0.6% against the dollar, with the pair trading at 0.6985.
The dollar shed 0.27% against the loonie at 1.3086, and about 0.6% at 0.9748 against Swiss franc.
the Swiss investor sentiment index rose by 16.4 points to 12.5 in December 2019 from -3.9 in the previous month, compared to -30.5 in the corresponding month of 2018 and reaching its highest reading since May 2018.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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