On Friday dollar was higher against its peers, as investors awaited the release of U.S. GDP data for the first quarter. Meanwhile, expectations for earlier rate hike continued to lend support for the greenback, as this week was rich for economic reports which indicated that the U.S. economy is gaining momentum.
The dollar index was steady at 97.023, with the greenback slight lower against the euro but at a three-week high against the British pound and flat against the yen. For the month, the index is up 2.5 percent, having shed 3.8 percent in April.
Market players now awaited preliminary first-quarter U.S. economic growth data due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
"Unless the growth data is revised to a show a contraction of 1 percent, the market will not be too surprised," said Jeremy Stretch, head of currency strategy at CIBC World Markets. "Any dip in the dollar will be a good entry level to go long, given we are still expecting some good payrolls numbers next week."
USD/JPY was down 0.03% to 123.91, not far from Thursday's 13-year peak of 124.47.
In Japan, industrial production increased by 1.0% in April, beating expectations for a 0.8% rise, after a 0.8% fall in March.
Separately, Japan's household spending dropped 5.5% in April, compared to expectations for a 0.7% slip, after a 2.4% rise the previous month. Consumer prices in Japan climbed on a yearly basis of 0.6% last month, in line with expectations, after a 2.3% increase in March.
The euro was higher, with EUR/USD up 0.26% to 1.0976 after data showed that German retail sales rose 1.7% last month, beating expectations for a 0.8% gain.
Separately, a preliminary report showed that Spanish consumer prices slid 0.2% this month, compared to expectations for a 0.5% decline, after a 0.6% fall in April.
Meanwhile, Greece's partners signaled late Thursday that a deal to unlock rescue aid was not imminent.
"With little progress currently being made on the key issues, the prolonged uncertainty is likely to keep the euro under selling pressure, in our view," Morgan Stanley said in a note.
The pound was lower, with GBP/USD down 0.19% to 1.5287.
USD/CHF declined to settle at 0.9398 losing 0.38%.
Earlier, data indicated that the KOF economic barometer for Switzerland rose to 93.1 this month from 89.8 in April, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated reading of 89.5. Analysts had expected the barometer to rise to 90.0 in May.
The New Zealand dollar dropped to $0.7107, its lowest since Sept 2010 after a poll signaled business confidence tumbling, adding to speculation of a rate cut as early as June.
