WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar shed ground against some of its major counterparts on Friday, although it managed to hold near multi-month highs amid continued optimism about a quick U.S. economic recovery.
The dollar index advanced to 92.87 before paring some gains. Still, at 92.73, the index was up by about 0.22% a little while ago.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to $1.1793, sliding by about 0.25%.
The Pound Sterling strengthened against the dollar, fetching $1.3792 a unit, compared to $1.3732 on Thursday.
The Yen weakened to 109.68 a dollar, losing nearly 0.5%.
The Aussie was stronger against the dollar. The AUD-USD pair was quoting at 0.7641 a little while ago, giving the Aussie a gain of about 0.8%.
The Swiss franc was slightly stronger against the greenback at 0.9391, while the Loonie firmed up to 1.2570 a dollar, gaining 0.35% from $1.2613.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing personal income pulled back sharply in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said personal income plunged by 7.1% in February after skyrocketing by an upwardly revised 10.1% in January.
Economists had expected personal income to plummet by 7.3% compared to the 10% spike originally reported for the previous month.
The sharp pullback in personal income primarily reflected a decrease in government social benefits following the distribution of $600 stimulus checks in January.
The report also showed personal spending slumped by 1% in February after soaring by an upwardly revised 3.4% in January.
Economists had expected personal spending to decrease by 0.7% compared to the 2.4% jump originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth slowed to 1.4% in February from 1.5% in January.
A separate report from the University of Michigan showed U.S. consumer sentiment improved by even more than previously estimated in the month of March.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for March was upwardly revised to 84.9 from the preliminary reading of 83.0. Economists had expected the index to be upwardly revised to 83.6.
The consumer sentiment index is well above the final February reading of 76.8, reaching its highest level since hitting 89.1 in the same month a year ago.
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