The dollar was on
the defensive on Friday after soft U.S. economic data halted its
advance against peers such as the yen and euro while the market awaited
further developments in Greek debt negotiations.
The dollar index was
at 94.195 after going to a one-week low of 93.979 overnight. The index
had reached a two-week peak of 95.115 on Wednesday.
The dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 118.94 yen, knocked down from a five-week high of 120.48 touched on Wednesday after last week's robust U.S. non-farm payrolls revived prospects for a mid-year rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Economic
optimism was slightly cooled, however, by Thursday's
weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales and jobless claims. U.S. debt
yields slid in the wake of the data, taking support away from the
greenback.
"The slide showed that dollar/yen had become top-heavy and the market was simply unable to sustain earlier gains. The dollar still looks well supported, after all U.S. fundamentals, as non-farm payrolls proved, remain relatively strong," said Koji Fukaya, president of FPG Securities in Tokyo.
"The global environment, on the other hand, does not fully support a 'risk on' mood and this impedes one-way gains by the dollar."
The dollar going on the defensive gave the battered euro some reprieve. The common currency was steady at $1.1397 having gained 0.6 percent overnight and putting some distance between a recent trough of $1.1270 brushed at the start of the week.
Another small break for the euro came when the European Central Bank further raised the cap on emergency funding for Greek banks by about 5 billion euros to 65 billion euros.
Still, the euro is expected to remain shaky and volatile as negotiations for a bailout deal between Greece and its creditors continue with no clear end in sight.
Unable to reach an understanding this week, Greece and euro zone finance ministers will attempt again to bridge their differences at a meeting on Monday.
The dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 118.94 yen, knocked down from a five-week high of 120.48 touched on Wednesday after last week's robust U.S. non-farm payrolls revived prospects for a mid-year rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
"The slide showed that dollar/yen had become top-heavy and the market was simply unable to sustain earlier gains. The dollar still looks well supported, after all U.S. fundamentals, as non-farm payrolls proved, remain relatively strong," said Koji Fukaya, president of FPG Securities in Tokyo.
"The global environment, on the other hand, does not fully support a 'risk on' mood and this impedes one-way gains by the dollar."
The dollar going on the defensive gave the battered euro some reprieve. The common currency was steady at $1.1397 having gained 0.6 percent overnight and putting some distance between a recent trough of $1.1270 brushed at the start of the week.
Another small break for the euro came when the European Central Bank further raised the cap on emergency funding for Greek banks by about 5 billion euros to 65 billion euros.
Still, the euro is expected to remain shaky and volatile as negotiations for a bailout deal between Greece and its creditors continue with no clear end in sight.
Unable to reach an understanding this week, Greece and euro zone finance ministers will attempt again to bridge their differences at a meeting on Monday.
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