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The U.S. dollar turned a bit weak against some of its major counterparts on Friday, and dropped down from a near 20-year high touched a day earlier, due largely to some profit taking.
The dollar had been climbing higher in recent sessions, hitting new highs in the process, amid rising prospects of sharper interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in the coming months.
In today's economic news, revised data from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved slightly less than initially estimated in the month of April.
The report showed the consumer sentiment index for April was downwardly revised to 65.2 from the preliminary reading of 65.7. Nonetheless, the index is still sharply higher than the final March reading of 59.4.
A report released by MNI Indicators showed its Chicago business barometer slumped to 56.4 in April after jumping to 62.9 in March, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth.
The pullback by the Chicago business barometer came as the new orders index and the production index slid to their lowest levels since the summer of 2020.
The new orders index plunged to 51.1 in April from 61.9 in March, while the production index tumbled to 50.9 in April from 60.0 in March.
A report released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. personal income increased by 0.5% in March, after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7% in February. Economists had expected personal income to rise by 0.4% compared to the 0.5% increase originally reported for the previous month.
The report also showed personal spending jumped by 1.1% in March after advancing by an upwardly revised 0.6% in February. Economists had expected personal spending to increase by 0.7% compared to the 0.2% uptick originally reported for the previous month.
The dollar index, which rose to 103.93 on Thursday and settled at 103.62, opened around the previous closing level today and dropped to a low of 102.82 before recovering to 103.22.
Against the Euro, the dollar traded at $1.0548, easing from $1.0500.
The dollar was down nearly 1% against Pound Sterling, having weakened to $1.2576 from $1.2458.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar weakened to 129.85 yen from 130.82.
Against the Aussie, the dollar traded at 0.7062, gaining from 0.7098.
The Swiss franc dropped to 0.9736 from 0.9720, while the Loonie weakened to 1.2859 from 1.2809. Loonie firmed after data showed the Canadian economy expanded at the fastest pace since March 2021 in February.
Data from Statistics Canada showed that real gross domestic product climbed by 1.1% in February, following a 0.2% increase in January. Economists had forecast a 0.8% growth.
