Dollar index slips lower ahead of fresh U.S. data

Investing.com - The dollar slipped lower against other major currencies on Friday, pulling away from a recent two-week high as investors were preparing for a fresh batch of U.S. data due later in the day, after strong economic reports boosted U.S. optimism.

EUR/USD rose 0.30% to 1.1179, bouncing off the previous session’s two-week trough of 1.1130, after the International Monetary Fund and the euro zone's 19 finance ministers backed a payout of €8.5 billion to Greece in order to a default in July and avert another debt crisis.

However, the IMF said it will not disburse the money until the euro zone details debt relief measures, which are not expected until next year.

Investors were also eyeing the second round of the parliamentary election this Sunday, as recent opinion polls show that French President Emmanuel Macron is set to win a massive majority.

The greenback had strengthened broadly after the release on Thursday of encouraging data on U.S. initial jobless claims, as well as on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia and New York areas.

The data came a day after the Fed raised interest rates from 1.00% to 1.25%, in a widely expected move.

GBP/USD added 0.13% to 1.2774, still supported by the fact that three members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee surprised markets by voting in favor of a rate hike on Thursday.

However, the BoE chose to keep interest rates unchanged at a record low and maintain the level of its asset purchase program for the time being.

USD/JPY gained 0.34% to 111.30, while USD/CHF slid 0.25% to 0.9728.

Earlier Friday, the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged, in a widely expected move, pledging to keep asset purchases around the current target of ¥80 trillion.

"Private consumption has increased resilience against a background of steady improvement in the employment and income situation," the BOJ said in a statement.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.36% at 0.7607 and with NZD/USD advancing 0.40% to 0.7237.

In New Zealand, data earlier showed that the Business NZ Manufacturing Index rose to 58.5 in May from 56.8 the previous month.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD edged down 0.19% to trade at 1.3244.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% at 97.32, still close to Thursday’s two-week highs of 97.56.