The U.S. dollar rose on Friday, as the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand in the United States in July was slightly higher than expected.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.31 percent to 102.8426 in late trading.
The July PPI increased 0.8 percent on a yearly basis, up from the 0.1 percent increase recorded in June, according to the data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. This reading came in slightly higher than the market expectation of 0.7 percent.
“The PPI data shows that the inflation monster is still lingering but investors can see progress in the things that come under consumer price index (CPI),” said David Russell, vice president of market intelligence at TradeStation.
The U.S. Treasury yield on the two-year note, which moves in line with near-term interest rate expectations, climbed to 4.88 percent, boosting the U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index edged down to 71.2 in August, slightly exceeding the 71.0 consensus, from 71.6 in July.
“Sentiment is now about 42 percent above the all-time historic low in last June and is approaching the historical average reading of 86,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu at the University of Michigan.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0950 U.S. dollars from 1.0990 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.2696 U.S. dollars from 1.2691 dollars.
The U.S. dollar bought 144.9670 Japanese yen, higher than 144.7080 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.8763 Swiss francs from 0.8760 Swiss francs, and it was up to 1.3449 Canadian dollars from 1.3421 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar rose to 10.8314 Swedish Krona from 10.6760 Swedish Krona.