Dollar edges higher after upbeat U.S. data; EU agrees €7bn loan to Greece as Germany supports new bailout talks

On Friday the greenback saw a rise versus rivals after the release of positive U.S. inflation and housing data which added to expectations for the Fed rate hike in the near future.

Data released Friday showed that the U.S. consumer price index climbed 0.3% in June, in line with expectations and after a 0.4% gain in May. On an annualized basis, consumer prices rose 0.1% in June, also matching analysts' expectations.

Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in June, in line with expectations and after an increase of 0.1% in May.

Separate data showed that U.S. housing starts increased 9.8% to 1.174 million units in June from a revised total of 1.069 million units the previous month. Analysts had expected housing starts to increase by 6.2% last month.

U.S. building permits climbed 7.4% to 1.343 million units last month from 1.250 million units in May, beating expectations for a 11.8% drop.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, hit 97.89, the highest level since June 2, before declining to 97.744.

EUR/USD edged down 0.08% to 1.0866 after hitting highs of 1.0907 earlier in the session.

GBP/USD was last at 1.5581 lower 0.19%.

Elsewhere in Europe, Bundestag has given its backing to new aid talks for Greece, but 50 members of Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc opposed the plan. 439 MPs voted for and 119 against the talks.

The €7.6bn bridging loan for Greece has been agreed, with the money due to reach Greece on Monday.

Once the cash-strapped country receives the €7bn bridging loan, they can pay the €3.5bn due to the ECB on Monday as well as clearing the €1.5bn arrears it owes to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF would not be involved in any new bailout without these payments being cleared, says The Guardian.