WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar drifted lower against its major counterparts on Friday, after data for November raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may not accelerate the pace of monetary policy tightening.
Data released by the Labor Department this morning showed U.S. consumer prices surged at the fastest annual rate of in nearly 40 years in November. The data said the annual rate of growth in consumer prices accelerated to 6.8% in November from 6.2% a month earlier.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, were up by 4.9% compared to the same month a year ago, showing the biggest annual increase since June of 1991.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices climbed by 0.8% in November following a 0.9% advance in October. Economists had expected consumer prices to increase by 0.7%.
Core consumer prices rose by 0.5% in November after climbing by 0.6% in October. The increase in core prices matched economist estimates.
The Federal Reserve will meet on December 14 and 15 to discuss a faster tapering of asset purchases to tackle price pressures.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan released a report showing the consumer sentiment index climbed to 70.4 in December after dropping to a ten-year low of 67.4 in November. The rebound surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 67.1.
The dollar index, which slid to 95.98, edged up a bit to 96.06 subsequently, but still remains in negative territory with a loss of about 0.22%.
Against the Euro, the dollar weakened to $1.1320 from $1.1293.
The dollar is trading at $1.3270 against Pound Sterling, losing ground from $1.3219. The U.K. economy expanded at a weaker pace in October. Gross domestic product grew only 0.1% from September, when the economy expanded 0.6%, official data showed. This was also much slower than the 0.4% expansion expected by economists.
A report from the Office for National Statistics showed UK's visible trade deficit decreased to GBP 13.93 billion in October from GBP 14.7 billion in September. The expected shortfall was GBP 14.05 billion.
The dollar is trading at 113.39 yen, lower than previous close of 113.46 yen.
Against the Aussie, the dollar is at 0.7173, compared to 0.7149 on Thursday. The Swiss franc is gaining more than 0.3% against the dollar at CHF0.9206, while the Loonie is down slightly at 1.2725 a dollar, easing from 1.2716.
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